Homeless Dragon
by animegamer89
Summary: Three years ago, he was banished to a land he knew little about to fight in his ancestor's war. Now he is a wanderer who is dead in the eyes of his people. However, a scuffle at a pier changes the course of his life forever. Epic Au. Zuko-centric. Zutara.
1. A Very Strange Day

**Authors Notes: **

**I'm not sure if I'm ambitious, or just crazy.**

**I've toyed with the idea of making a series long AU for a while, especially after the series finale aired, but I just never got around to it. **

**Some awesome AU fan fictions, such as **_**The Lost Prince**_** by Pyrebender and **_**No Options**_** by Jonman14 all tell Zuko's story and relationship with team Avatar differently, so I thought I would try my hand at it as well. Tell me what you think of this, and I'll see if it's worth continuing. I apologize in advance if it gets confusing to read; the perspectives change depending on the character. **

**It starts from The Waterbending Scroll, and I hope you like it.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender. It is the property of its creators and Nickelodeon. **

Chapter 1: A Very Strange Day

_Zuko kneeled in the rain. His armor that was cracked, and broken in certain places, and his ponytail had come loose and his long, regal hair was wild and messy and went over his eyes hiding the tears. In his hands was a handkerchief with an emblem that was torn and ragged. It was a crimson red with a green tiger-wolf on a black rock howling at a white dao sword in the place of a crescent moon._

_The trees around him began to tense as the Yu Yan archers took their positions in the canopies and branches of the forest he was in. He looked to his right and saw them, but when he heard the same noise to the left, he didn't bother. He couldn't see them out of that eye anyway with the burn on his face and the eye patch that covered it._

_The archers drew their bows and took aim, and all Zuko did was close his eyes. He heard the release of the arrows and a large thud._

Zuko shot his eyes open, and sprung up. He immediately touched the left side of his face, and felt the scar. He traced the smooth callous skin, before his good eye cringed in anger.

He looked around him, and saw the cheap room of the seaside Earth Kingdom inn he was staying at. It was dustier than he remembered, and he smelled something very unpleasant that wasn't from his room. He decided that it was time for him to leave, get some supplies, and move onto the next town.

If he was in the same room three years ago, he would be complaining about the sorry state that it was in, and that the conditions weren't fit for a prince. However, he had been banished, and had three years of humility beat into him, figuratively and literally.

He had changed physically over the years. His muscles were leaner and more defined, and he was stronger. Many of the young, innocent features he once possessed made way for the face of a young man who had seen many fights, and lived. The only thing that didn't really change too much was his hair. He maintained the length that it possessed in his youth, the only thing that was different was the fact that he had bangs, and his hair was slightly scruffier, a sign that it was no longer treated with the royal care that it once received.

Once he tied the hair on the back of his head into a low ponytail and arranged his bangs with his fingers, he put on his leather eye-patch to cover his scar, a pair of dark green pants, a black long-sleeved tunic with black gloves and leather wristbands. Over that he wore a simple Earth Kingdom robe. Once his clothes were on, he went to the foot of the bed, and slung his dual dao swords over his back. The swords, though not particularly special, was the only thing that stood out in his overall look. The sheath was made entirely of wood with images of dragons carved in a tribal fashion, and the handles of both swords had two different colors, one red the other blue.

After he got dressed, he rifled through the chest area of his robes and pulled out the same handkerchief in his dream. It was stitched, but still ragged. He closed his eyes and held it close to his forehead. After a moment of silence, he left the room, and went to the innkeeper at the first floor. She gave him a warm smile as he greeted her.

"Did you sleep well young man?" she asked him.

"Yes, very much, thank you," he replied politely.

"I'm sorry that the rooms are a little messy, but I just don't have the staff to maintain cleanliness for very long. They all fled to Ba Sing Se," she apologized sadly.

Zuko smiled and said it was no problem. The innkeeper smiled as well, and gave him a large bowl of congee porridge. Zuko graciously ate the meal, and thanked the innkeeper. He paid her fifteen silver pieces for her hospitality, and left the inn to the docks to see what supplies he could get from the various merchants in along the pier and the alleys. There was a mixture of different goods from Fire Nation teas and spices to Earth Kingdom silks and ornaments. Being a pragmatist though, he looked for foods and medicines before he would even consider indulgences. He looked in his pouch, and saw twenty gold pieces, ten silver, and sixteen copper. He grinned and thought he could use a new whetstone once he got his supplies.

He started off with medical supplies, and went on to food. He managed to get a lot of deals, and discounts through his acquired skill of haggling, a skill that he taught himself from watching others. As he counted his money, he smiled and went on his way to the alleys to the weapons merchant when…

"Hey you! Get back here!"

He looked to the source of the noise. A band of pirates leapt from a ship to the port, and drew their weapons. He looked further down the road, and saw three kids run from them immediately.

Curious, he went into the alleys, and climbed up onto a roof to get a better vantage point. He dashed on the rooftops of the portside market and began a pursuit of his own once he located them. Because both parties were so focused on the other, they didn't see him at all as he leapt from roof to roof. He saw the whole runaway on the part of the kids, and took note of them, especially after seeing a flying cabbage cart. There were two, a boy and a girl, wearing blue, which he immediately guessed was Water Tribe, some furry flying animal, and a little bald kid with blue tattoos on his head and a staff. He didn't recognize the national colors that the kid wore, but at this point, he didn't really care. The whole situation now fully intrigued him and he was determined to see what the situation was.

He saw the kids stop at a dead end with the pirates blocking their only avenue of escape, and he immediately stopped and crouched down with swords at the ready. He was about to leap in between them and the pirates when, suddenly, the kid sent a powerful gust of wind with his staff. The gust caught the pirates, throwing them back a few yards, and not long afterward, the kid turned his staff into what looked like a glider, and the two water tribe children were hanging off of him as they flew into the air. He looked dumbfounded and stood there looking at what just happened.

'Did they… just fly?' was all he could think.

**xXxXx**

Zuko left the town at sunset, and followed the river instead of the roads. He knew bandits were in the area, and he had no intention of getting tangled up with them at night, so he trekked through the wilderness near a steady source of water. He couldn't get what he saw out of his head that morning, and the more he thought about it, the more he began to be confused.

'It doesn't make sense… people don't just fly, do they?' he thought before another one entered his mind, "Unless… maybe those stories weren't rumors.'

He was so lost in his thoughts that he did not even notice the slow change from sunset to night until he walked into a tree. He began to look for a good place to set up camp, and stopped at a clearing just as the moon was rising high above the clouds, and decided that it was a good place to set up camp. He set his pack down, and got some twigs together to form a circle. He ignited a flame in the palm of his hand, and was prepared to light it when he heard water splashing. He snuffed out the fire, and went in the direction of the sound.

He hid behind some bushes and saw a girl by the river waterbending, though it didn't really seem like she was very good at it. Zuko got a closer look at her and recognized her; she was the girl in the group that was chased by pirates. She began to get frustrated as she struggled to master whatever move she was doing. A part of him wanted to say hello, but if he did, he would probably be called a creep for sneaking up on a girl in the middle of the night.

He figured it was best to leave her alone with herself, and to get back to his own camp further down the banks. As he did, he heard a loud thud and whirled back around. He dashed into the bushes, and saw the boat that the pirates came out of.

'What are-?'

"NO! Let go of me!"

'The girl…!' he thought before running back to her location.

He emerged from the trees, and the girl ran into him without looking. When she turned around and saw him, she raised her hands to protect herself, expecting him to attack her. However, Zuko only caught her wrists firmly, but gently, and looked into her sapphire eyes. She looked into his eyes with fear before a sound caught his attention. He saw more pirates coming toward him, and he looked back at the girl whose wrists he caught.

"I'll save you from the pirates," said Zuko before letting the confused girl go free.

Zuko pulled her behind him, and drew out his swords.

"Get going!" he shouted to her.

The pirates charged at him, and he ran to fight them head on. Suddenly, he noticed a blue blur run past him to a tree stump with a scroll on it, and noticed she was trying to get the scroll. Zuko saw a pirate close in on her from behind. He blocked an attack, and dashed toward the girl. As she rolled up the scroll, a pirate raised a pike into the air, but Zuko blocked the attack. Upon hearing the clanging of the metal, the girl turned around. Zuko pushed the pirate back, and kicked him hard to ward him off.

"Let's go!" he yelled.

The girl went into the forest, and Zuko followed her and covered the rear. He turned around occasionally to block an incoming attack, but otherwise focused on getting away from them. Zuko looked around for anything that could slow the pirates down, and found his answer in the trees. There were some old tree branches tangling one another, and he leapt onto the trunks before pushing off and cutting them down with his swords. All the pirates jumped out of the way of the falling branches, and were consumed by a dust cloud that came with the thud. He caught up to the girl and led her to some bushes to hide in while the pirates were recovering from the diversion. The girl fell on her hands and knees and began to catch her breath while he watched for any pirates.

**xXxXx**

When Katara began to breathe normally, she sat herself up and looked toward her rescuer.

"Are you ok?" he asked.

She looked at the boy with the low ponytail, and eye patch.

"Yes," she whispered.

He boy simply nodded in response, and peered over the bushes.

"So…" he began softly, "What would a girl like you be doing with a bunch of pirates? I mean, you don't look like the type of person who would even associate with their lot."

"It's a complicated story," she lied quietly.

It was simple actually, she stole from them and they wanted it back.

"Does it have something to do with the scroll that you got from the tree stump in the river?"

Katara's face fell.

"Yes," was her reply.

"Well, what is it, a treasure map?"

"No, a waterbending scroll," she replied.

This time, boy's face fell.

"You mean to tell me you angered a bunch of pirates over a waterbending scroll?" he hissed, "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard? Why would you jeopardize your life over something as trivial as that?"

Katara glared at him now, not very happy with the tone of his voice and for calling her stupid.

"For your information, me and my friends need this waterbending scroll," she hissed back, "The fate of the world depends on it."

"How does learning a few fancy splashes save the world?" he questioned in irritation.

"Fancy splashes?" she shouted before standing up, "How dare you call me stupid, and call waterbending 'fancy splashes.' You sound just like my brother."

"Quiet," hissed the boy, "The pirates-"

A clicking sound was heard. The boy instantly lunged on top of her and she fell to the ground with him. The two saw a crossbow bolt imbedded in a nearby tree, and immediately got up.

"So much for hiding" he muttered.

More pirates linked up with their fellow crewman.

"Run! I'll hold them off," the boy shouted.

"But-"

"Go!"

Katara ran quickly through the forest, and trying to get back to Aang and Sokka. Suddenly, she heard the sound of clanging metal, and looked over her shoulder and realized the boy wasn't there. He was fighting, outnumbered and surrounded. She wanted to help, even if he was infuriating, but she realized that she'd just be putting herself and him in even more danger. She reluctantly left him to his fate at the hands of the pirates, and ran deep into the woods to get help. She owed him, and could only pray that she wouldn't be too late.

**xXxXx**

It was pretty close to dawn when Sokka woke up. He noticed that Katara was gone, and began to panic.

"Where did she go?" asked Sokka before inspecting the pack, "I don't believe it.

Aang woke up.

"She took the scroll," said Sokka, "She's obsessed with that thing. It's only a matter of time before-"

No sooner than he said that, Katara came rushing out of the woods to the camp, holding the scroll.

"There you are! Where were-"

"The pirates are here," said Katara interrupting her brother.

Sokka and Aang woke up instantly.

"They're what?"

"And they got someone who helped me escape," she added.

Sokka looked at her with disbelief.

"Someone else was here?" asked Sokka.

"Just a guy who was nearby when the pirates attacked me," she explained.

"Are you… see Katara," said Sokka in his 'I told you so' voice, "This is what happens when you steal. We're not the only ones who get into trouble, other people do too."

"I know, I get it, ok," said Katara, "We have to get the one who helped get away though."

"Katara's right," said Aang, "Someone got involved because of us. We should try to help him."

"Us? Katara was the one who took the scroll, not 'us," corrected Sokka, "As for the guy, he helped Katara get away. He'd want us leave while we can."

"Says who?" demanded Katara, "We're helping him get away! Who knows what they'll do to him.

"Who knows what they'll do to us if we get caught too," retaliated Sokka.

"I'm helping him Sokka," said Katara.

"And I'll help out too," said Aang.

Even Momo sided with them by landing on Katara's shoulder and screeched.

"Ok, fine!" shouted Sokka as he slapped his forehead, "But we need to do this carefully."

"We should sneak up on them while they aren't watching," said Katara.

"No, they're pirates," said Sokka, "They would be expecting that."

"So what would you suggest?" said Katara in irritation.

"Why not bargain with them?" suggested Aang, "I mean if they want the scroll, we can give it back to them in exchange."

"…Good idea Aang," said Sokka thoughtfully, "We return the thing that got us into trouble, and we save a man's life; another good day for the Avatar."

Katara looked at the scroll, and hesitated. She really wanted to learn the techniques detailed not just for Aang's sake, but for her own as well. However, she sighed. Sokka was right, the scroll had gotten them into trouble, and now a person's life was in danger because of it. She decided it was probably best to return it, and led Aang and Sokka to where she last saw the pirates.

When they got there, the pirates were long gone, and Katara began to frantically look for signs of the boy with the eye patch.

"They were right here," she said, her voice filled with worry.

Sokka looked around, and saw the ground. There were a lot of footprints and some drag marks.

"It looks like they fought and captured the guy, and judging from the drag marks, I think they lead up to the river," said Sokka.

"Then we go to the river," said Katara.

Before Aang and Sokka could stop here, she went forward into the forest.

**xXxXx**

Zuko could not believe what had happened. He had lost to pirates, and was now tied up and placed in the brig of their ship.

'Stupid girl; this is her fault,' he thought.

He knew it wasn't true. He chose to help her, even if what she did was stupid. After he was captured, and thrown in the cell of the ship, he overheard the captain bark orders to his crew to find the girl, and the scroll. Considering hours had passed, and no new prisoners came to the cells, he assumed that the girl managed to escape.

'Well… at least I don't have to worry about her anymore.'

He started to think of a plan that could get him out of here. He began to struggle a bit, trying to get the pearl dagger in his belt, when the captain approached his cell and looked down on him.

"You're pretty stubborn," he said, "But you're also strong kid, and I'd hate to waste such talent. If you join my crew, then I'll reconsider my original plans."

"I don't deal with pirates," he shot back.

"Ha! Suit yourself, your going to fetch me a good price with the Fire Nation Mining Commission," laughed the captain as he walked away.

Zuko scowled but no one was really watching him, and he could understand why. They had tied him up good, and he couldn't reach the knife in his belt. He could still bend though, but he didn't want to make a scene and decided to wait until the ship began to sail. That way he burn through the ropes, and catch everyone off guard. The pirates would have had to turn the ship around to catch him, but he would have swam to shore and reached land by then. He chose to wait.

**xXxXx**

Katara, Aang, and Sokka saw the pirate vessel and hid. Katara saw a pair the dao swords the boy had resting on a pack by the shore. She nodded to Aang and her brother, confirming the guy was there. Katara asked for her brother's boomerang and they approached the pirates. The pirates quickly saw them and drew out their weapons.

"Wait," she said, "I have the scroll; I'm returning it to you."

Katara pulled it out, and showed it to the pirates.

"Hand it over little girl," said the captain in a very threatening voice.

"There was a man last night who fought you," she quickly added, "Where is he?"

"Why? What is he to you?" he asked.

"Hand me the guy, and I'll hand you the scroll," she said.

"I don't need to bargain with you," said the captain.

His crew was about to attack, but Katara quickly took Sokka's boomerang and held the bladed end to the scroll

"Where is he?" she asked, not backing down.

The captain growled, sighed and waved his hand, and one of the crew went on board. After a while Katara saw him all tied up and pushed over the ships railings onto the beach with the crew. A pirate used the boy's ponytail to get him on his feet, and boy looked around to see what was going on. He and saw his things next to one of the pirates before he faced Katara and the group.

"What are you doing here?" he suddenly shouted angrily, "I thought I told you to run!"

"I'm here to rescue you! You don't have to be a jerk!" shouted Katara angrily.

"Enough!" shouted the captain, "The boy's alive, so quit your blabbering and hand over the scroll!"

"Argh, how do we know ye be handing him over?" said Aang in his pirate voice.

"Knock it off Aang, it's not funny anymore," said Sokka.

"You stole from us, it's you we won't be trusting," said the captain, "Now hand it over."

Katara was about to toss the scroll over to them when she heard rustling. Everyone looked in the bushes and saw a greasy looking man with a sword shouting back into the forest as he walked in the area.

"I'm not lying boss, I heard something over here!" he said before facing everyone

**xXxXx**

Zuko watched as an entire group of bandits entered the area shortly after their scout saw them. He knew there were bandits in the area, but he didn't actually think they would be this close. The bandits were on edge, the pirates were hostile, and the kids were wary of the situation.

"Who are you?" said one of the bandits with a very large pudao halberd.

He was imposing, but calm. The leader, Zuko figured.

"Stay out of this," said the pirate captain, "Those kids have something of ours, and we're going to get it back."

The tensions were beginning to mount as one group of thieves leered at the other, ready to draw their weapons on their leader's orders. The situation went from bad to worse, and he looked around, trying to find the best way out of his predicament. He tried to figure how he could get to his things. If he could draw his sword just a little bit, then he could cut himself loose. Zuko's thoughts were interrupted, however, when he heard something from the kids that he was not expecting.

"_Aang, now would be a good time to do some Avatar thing," whispered the boy in the blue clothing._

"_I can't think of any right now, Sokka," replied the boy in yellow._

Zuko's eyes widened.

'Avatar…?' he thought as he faced the group of kids.

He looked at the bald boy, and his good eye widened. He had heard the rumors that the Avatar had returned and that he was a child with tattoos on his forehead. He had thought they were just rumors and stories told by fisherman and Fire Nation sailors, however. How could a child fight his father? He knew from experience the answer to that question.

Regardless, the resemblance was uncanny. The kid matched all the descriptions he had heard over the months, and he realized they were true.

He looked at the pirates and the bandits. They were too engrossed with animosity toward the other that they didn't even hear a thing. A plan came to him, and though it wasn't as elaborate as Azula's were, it was perfect for people like these.

"Hey Mister!" shouted Zuko to the bandit leader.

Everyone immediately looked to him.

"You talking to me, boy?" he demanded threateningly.

"Who else?" he replied politely, "Don't you know who that kid over there is? He's the Avatar!"

"The Avatar?" the bandit leader and pirate captain shouted at the same time.

"That's right! The Fire Nation is looking for him, and if anything, I'd say there's a pretty hefty sum that comes with him!"

"What are you doing?" shouted the girl.

"Now the question is… who gets him," he said ignoring her, and he looking at the leaders' expressions of distrust.

He smiled.

"On the one hand, they stole from the pirates, but on the other, they're on your land. Who get to call dibs I wonder," he added with a mocking voice of thoughtfulness.

**xXxXx**

Katara could not believe this whole situation. Here she was trying to save boy who helped her out, and he sells them out just like that.

"Nice move," said Sokka suddenly.

Katara whirled to her brother.

"What?" she said to him.

"Look at them Katara," Aang pointed out.

She saw the pirates and the bandits face each other with greedy eyes.

"He's ours, we saw him first!" said the pirate captain drawing out a straight sword.

"Well, you're on our turf now, you ocean hugger," said the bandit leader getting his pudao ready.

The two groups were ready to brawl over who gets Aang, and she looked to boy to see a smirk crawling across his face. She understood his plan, and smirked when the two groups charged. They were so busy fighting one another that they completely forgot about them and the boy.

"Now's our chance," said Sokka.

The group got to the boy with the eye patch, and Sokka used his knife to cut him loose. He immediately side stepped Sokka, and grabbed the shaft of a spear from a bandit about to skewer him from behind. He pushed it away into the air, and stepped in close before kicking the bandit's arm and snap kicking the ribs. The bandit dropped the spear and the guy punched him, knocking him unconscious.

"Get on the boat!" he ordered before retrieving his swords and slinging his pack onto his back.

The group immediately went to the boat, but several of the thugs broke from the main battle, especially the pirates and went after the group. The boy got in between them, and drew out both of his swords ready for a rematch. The pirates attacked him and he fought back.

Katara and everyone else went to the boat but found it beached, and no where near ready to go into the river.

"We're going to need a team of rhinos to get this boat in the water," said Sokka.

"A team of rhinos, or maybe two water benders," said Aang.

Katara beamed at Aang's suggestion, and the two began to push and pull the water up to the bow of the ship. After a minute or two, the boat dislodged from the shore and began to retreat to the river. They climbed the rope ladder, and Sokka looked to his sister's rescuer.

"Get in!" called out Sokka.

**xXxXx**

Zuko looked over to see the ship going into the river, and rushed for it. He didn't stop even as spearmen and pirates tried to catch up to him, and take a strike at him. To avoid the attacks he simply slid under or leapt over the weapons coming at him. Just before he was able to get the ladder, the bandit leader took a swing with his pudao to Zuko's legs. However, Zuko leapt up into the air, and took a step on the bandit leader's wrist, then his head before leaping onto the rope ladder hanging off of the bow. He began to climb on board, ignoring the cries of anger coming from the thieves behind him.

When he was on the railing of the ship, he was helped up by the Water Tribe boy.

"Are you ok?" he asked Zuko.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he replied.

"Hi, I'm Aang. I'm the Avatar, but you already knew that," said the young boy as he floated down to greet him.

"Er, hi I'm… you can call me Lee," replied Zuko.

"Hi Lee, this is Sokka," said Aang before introducing Sokka to him.

"Hey," said Sokka.

Zuko bowed lightly, and a girl cleared her throat. Zuko looked up to see the familiar girl from last night, and he groaned.

"I'm Katara," she introduced curtly, "Now, I believe there's something you'd like to say to me."

Zuko sighed, "Thank you for saving me, but you shouldn't have."

"I know, but-"

"No, I mean you shouldn't have come back to save me," he corrected, "I told you to run, what were you thinking?"

Katara's jaw fell open in shock.

"If you want an answer to your question, you were captured! I had to rescue you!" she shouted.

"Well, I didn't ask to be rescued now did I? The point of you running away from dangerous people is so that you don't go back to them!" he shouted.

"Well, then the next time you get captured by bloodthirsty pirates, I'll leave you to rot!"

"And the next time you're chased by pirates, I'll let you get caught!"

Zuko turned away and marched to the railing opposite of Katara. Suddenly, he felt a whip on the back of his head, and turned around to see the girl holding a water whip in her hands.

"Katara, you did a water whip," said Aang in joy.

"Yeah, and it came in handy," said Katara smugly.

Zuko felt like ripping his hair out. He could not believe that this was really the Avatar and his group, the ones who will save the world.

"Um guys, what's that?" asked Sokka pointing further down the river.

Zuko and everyone else went to the bow, and got a better look ahead. It was a waterfall, and from the sound of it, a big one. Aang quickly blew a white whistle, but Sokka shouted at him saying it wasn't the time for flute practice. Zuko looked around for anything to stop the ship, and he saw the anchor on the side.

"Sokka, help get that anchor in the water," shouted Zuko.

"Ok Lee," said Sokka as he took one end of the heavy anchor, and Zuko took the other one, "On three… one… two… three!"

They both picked it up, and threw it over the side. They stood clear of the line as the weight of the anchor did its job. A large thud could be heard from the bottom, and very quickly, the ship whipped around. The group all fell on the deck, but the ship was not completely stopped. The currents of the rapids nearing the waterfall were too strong to let the ship stop, and the rope of the anchor was pulled to its limits.

"Get away from the bow!" shouted Sokka.

The four of them went along to the middle of the ship when the rope snapped. The whiplash from the tension ripped part of the dragon ornament to pieces and splinters were flying everywhere. The ship began to speed up to the falls, but Katara quickly began to perform her bending. She told Aang to do it with her, and the two once again began to push and pull the water. It took a minute, but the ship stopped just before the falls. The question though was for how long.

"Now what?" asked Zuko.

Sokka's eyes widened and he smiled as he looked in the sky.

"We fly," he said.

Zuko looked up in the sky, and saw a giant, flying animal. He could not believe what he was seeing. It really was a weird day. Sokka was the first to leap on to Appa's saddle, Momo flew into it, and Zuko threw his pack and swords to Sokka before he turned his attention to the two water benders.

"You two get on… what is he?"

"Appa," said Aang still concentrating, "His name's Appa."

"Right, get on Appa now," said Zuko.

"But what about you?" asked Aang.

"I'll follow you, and if that doesn't work, I'll swim. Now go!" he ordered before getting some rope.

Aang and Katara immediately dashed for Appa releasing the ship from their hold, and causing it to continue going down river. While Katara and Aang go safely onto Appa, Zuko dashed to the rear of the ship as it began to tip over the falls. At the last possible moment, when the ship went over, he lunged into the air, and tossed the rope to Aang and the others in the hopes that they would catch it.

Sokka missed the rope by an inch.

Zuko fell into the rapids, and followed the same course as the ship. He was falling head first to the bottom of the falls when a white fluffy shape came into view from the side. Aang drove Appa under him, and caught his arms while Katara got his legs. They set him down on the saddle to let him catch his breath, and Aang held up the whistle from earlier.

"I knew a bison whistle would come in handy. Thanks Appa," said Aang as he took them away from the waterfall.

"Yeah, we owe you one," said Sokka.

Zuko got on all fours and crawled to one end of the saddle. He had never seen the landscape quite like this. It was amazing. The world seemed as though it was a living, breathing map. He could see for miles, and he marveled at all he saw around him.

"Wow," he uttered to himself.

Zuko's feelings of amazement ended when he felt a cold chill in his spine. He turned around and saw Katara staring at him coldly. He looked away, and back to the landscape, and pointed.

"There," he said getting Aang's attention.

Aang turned around and saw the hilly countryside he was pointing to.

"Drop me off there," said Zuko, "It's far enough away from the bandits, and close enough to a village for me to walk to."

"I could take you to the village," said Aang.

"No, that's alright. You've done enough for me, I couldn't ask you to do this too," he said solemnly.

"Ok," said Aang as he steered Appa to the direction Zuko pointed to.

Zuko sat silently in his seat as the wind blew his hair around in different directions. He rather liked being in the sky. It felt liberating, and he relished every moment of it while he could, despite the glares he received from the Water Tribe siblings. Aang arrived at the destination, and Zuko pointed where exactly to land and Aang did as he asked. He got his pack and his swords, and jumped down. However, before he went on his way, he turned around.

"Wait," he declared before Aang could get Appa to move, "Katara… is it?"

"What do you want?" she asked in an irritated voice.

"I'm sorry if I sounded like a jerk. I just thought you ran away, and seeing you there… well I got upset. I felt like I helped you get away for nothing, I'm sorry," he apologized with a bow.

Katara looked at him thoughtfully.

"Apology accepted," she said before sighing, "Even if you did call me stupid."

"I didn't call you stupid," he said quickly, "I said stealing from pirates was stupid."

Katara gave a 'humph' and looked away indignantly. Zuko ran his hand through his hair to calm down, and faced the Avatar next.

"Avatar Aang," he called out, "Thanks for the save at the falls. I owe you."

"You don't have to Lee," said Aang.

"No, no, I do," said Zuko, "If you're ever in trouble, I'll help you out. It's kind of what I do for people anyway."

"Well, thanks for the offer Lee," said Aang.

"Farewell, Avatar," said Zuko with a courteous bow, and he went along to the village.

He heard Appa take off, and felt the breeze caress his back. He saw the bison fly off into the distance and a feeling rose in his heart.

'Why do I get the feeling I haven't seen the last of him,' he thought as he continued to walk down the road.

**Authors Note:**

**So, what do you guys think so far? Should I continue or not? **

**This is an AU, so there are of course differences. I want you guys to be honest in your reviews, which means I would like the negative reviews as well as the positive ones.**

**Whether you like it or not, I want to thank you for taking the time to reading this story. Please let me know how you feel about it.**


	2. Reasons

**Author's Notes:**

**Eleven very positive reviews! Well, I guess I'm continuing this. Thank you all for liking this story, it means a lot to me. **

**Ok, now some of you guys had some questions, so let's start with the back story, since that's what everyone seems to want to know. Since this is an AU Zuko's story will be different from before. I will reveal his past as the story continues, kind of like how it was in the show, and devote whole chapters to it from time to time, otherwise I will only hint at it. Now as for Iroh, you'll find out soon (evil laugh).**

**Now, here's something I need help with. I'm not sure if I should make this story one very, VERY long story, or if I should divide it into parts; you decide. That way, I know what to properly title this story. Please let me know in your reviews.**

**Now, I give you the next chapter of **_**Homeless Dragon**_**.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender. It is the property of its creators and Nickelodeon. **

Ch. 2: Reasons

Zuko walked along the road of the forest. It had been five days since he saw the Avatar, and he had been walking with very little sleep since that time. The experience still left a lot on his mind, and none of it was positive. Under normal circumstances meeting the Avatar would have been nice, and perhaps he would even say it would have been an honor. But after his experience, he thought it would be best to avoid him and his companions, especially the girl.

'Stupid scroll…' he muttered to himself.

He groaned at the thought of the incident, and it was all he could think about for the past few days. Those kids were even there in his dreams. He focused his attention on the scenery, hoping it would take away any thoughts of the group of people that he considered a plague on his mind.

He looked at the forest displaying their lavish autumn tones. The dazzling mixture of red and orange gave him a strong sense of the Fire Nation, his old home. Zuko felt his heart pang as he started to feel homesick, but then the thoughts drifted back to the palace, to his father, and anger rose in his heart. He was not sure which was worse, thinking about the Avatar and his friends and the trouble they brought, or missing his home but feeling the hatred that welled up with the man who branded him.

Feeling a certain unhealthiness with his thoughts and hunger starting to set in, he decided to take a break from walking, and found a nice tree with a soft pile of red leaves that had fallen from the tops past some of the bushes. He set his pack down, and sat against a tree. As he rummaged through his supplies looking for a snack, he heard an aged grunt.

He immediately put his stuff away, and got onto his feet. As he did though, he heard rustling, and grabbed his dual swords and gripped the handle as the sound and stalked toward it. He brushed away some of the foliage around him, and saw the source of the sound.

It was an old man in Fire Nation clothes.

'Am I in the colonies?' he thought.

The old man appeared to have fallen, and struggled to get up. Zuko went back and got his things before coming to the old man's aid.

"Sir, are you ok?" he asked him.

The old man looked up at Zuko, and raised his hands in defense.

"Please don't hurt me! I'll give you anything you want!"

Zuko felt a little hurt that he had just been accused of banditry, but grabbed the old man up and helped him on his feet anyway. The old man looked up to Zuko and examined him as well, especially his swords.

"You're… you're Earth Kingdom," said the old man fearfully.

"So?" lied Zuko.

"Why help me?" he asked, now perplexed.

"You looked like you needed help," answered Zuko, "But if you're here, I take it there's a colony not too far?"

"Well not a colony, just an occupied Earth Kingdom town," replied the old man warily, "If you were on your way there, you would have had a hard time getting in."

"I see," said Zuko sadly, "Well, I suppose I'll have to move onto the next town."

"Actually…" began the old man catching Zuko's attention, "If you help me get back to the town, I can get you in. After all, I am the elder."

"Really?" he asked the elder.

"If you… promise to not to hurt me or my family," he answered.

"I would never," Zuko answered instantly.

The elder stared at Zuko, searching for any lying in his expression and answer. After a moment, he nodded warily.

"Very well, follow me," said the elder.

Zuko bowed courteously.

"My feet thank you," said Zuko, "Oh; I'm Lee by the way."

"…I am… Lao Ren, a… pleasure," said the elder, surprised by the boy's manners.

Zuko promptly escorted him. Half-way down the road, Lao Ren sighed.

"Beautiful isn't it?" he asked Zuko cautiously.

"Yes, it is," replied Zuko, hoping to end any awkward tension.

"Too bad dark shadows hide beneath it," continued Lao Ren.

"Shadows?" he asked.

"Bandits my boy, bandits," said Lao, "They've been raiding around this area for a while, and soldiers are none too pleased. They've been enforcing a number of curfews and restrictions on the town, and its people. And I'm not just talking about the Earth Kingdom inhabitants, the Fire Nation ones as well."

"That bad huh?" asked Zuko.

"Mm," sounded Lao, "I remember not too long ago when I could walk the woods without any fear of harassment."

"Then why travel if it's dangerous now?" asked Zuko.

"Well, I needed to get some herbs to treat my daughter's illness," Lao Ren answered, now sensing he could trust him, "My son-in-law is fighting in the war, and my granddaughter is looking after her mother, my daughter. I was the only one who could get it, and now that you're here, I can get back safely."

"I see," said Zuko, "So, that's why you wanted me to escort you."

"I apologize if I've inconvenienced you, but it's absolutely necessary to save my daughter's life. They're counting on me to come home and if those bandits-" said the elder.

Zuko recalled a memory in his past, and held up his hand to calm the elder.

"Don't worry about it. I understand," said Zuko.

"You do? Oh thank you," said Lao Ren before sighing out of relief, "Now shall we… enjoy the scenery while we can?"

Zuko couldn't help but nod his approval. The woods really did remind him of the best parts of home. The warm colors were like the very fire within him: bright, powerful, and unrelenting. It was as though the last breath of the summer burned brightly and defiantly before the cold, dark hand of winter claimed the landscape, and he decided to savor it for as long as he could. He and the old man walked silently through the woods, admiring the beauty until they heard bird calls.

"Ah, even the birds are enjoying the scenery," said Lao Ren.

Zuko however looked confused.

"Odd, they should be in the south at this time of year," said Zuko.

He recognized the calls from the Southern Earth Kingdom, where the birds were in the autumn months until they flew back north in the spring. Then he got a familiar feeling. He stopped the elder, and looked around. Aside from the calls it was way too quiet.

"Sir, I don't think we're alone," said Zuko.

"W-What do we do Lee?" asked the elder frantically.

"Just stay calm, and close," said Zuko, "I'll protect you."

They edged slowly through the woods, and Zuko acted as if nothing was wrong. He kept his drawing arm limp, and then a same bird call rang through the woods, only it seemed harsher. His arm tensed, and he heard rustling from above.

"Stay close!" he shouted as he drew out his dual swords.

No sooner than did, a figure leapt down from the trees and landed in front of them with pure malice in his eyes. He had messy brown hair, tan skin, light armor, hook swords, and a twig in his mouth. Zuko glared at him, and he heard something behind him. He took a step back closer to the old man, and separated his swords. One blade pointed to the first attacker, and another pointed to a huge guy with a log tied to his back and a boyish-looking girl.

"What are you doing in our forest you leeches?" demanded the first attacker.

"Your forest?" began Zuko, "Are you the bandits who have been attacking this area?"

"Bandits?" shouted the other boy, "Is that what that Fire Nation trash has told you? What about you? You're Earth Kingdom, why are you protecting him?"

"I don't have to answer to you," was all Zuko said.

"Please!" the elder plead, "Let us go! Have mercy!"

"Does the Fire Nation let people go? Does the Fire Nation have mercy?" yelled the boy.

He was about to charge, and Zuko was fully prepared to counter it when a club latched to one of the legs of the attacker.

"Jet! He's just an old man," said an oddly familiar cracked voice.

Zuko's eye widened as he saw one of the three people he had been working hard to get out of his head.

"Sokka?" he asked as he saw him.

"Lee?" he replied.

The person, now called Jet looked at the two of them.

"You know _him_?" he asked angrily.

"He helped us once, long story," said Sokka before looking to Zuko, "What are you doing here?"

"I should be asking you the same question. First pirates, now bandits?" he said angrily.

"We're not bandits!" Jet objected, "We're Freedom Fighters!"

"Oh, really, you could have fooled me," growled Zuko.

"Traitor!" shouted Jet, but Sokka stopped him from attacking, "Search him!"

The big guy and the girl made a move, but Zuko lunged before the first step could be taken. He landed a powerful kick into the big guy's gut, and used his body to push him back close to the old man. The big guy flew a couple of feet, and girl was about to charge. But Zuko shot her a deadly glare that pinned her in place, and he glared back at Jet.

"Look, even if he is Fire Nation he's just a civilian," objected Sokka trying to hold Jet back.

"Have you forgotten that the Fire Nation killed your mother? Remember why you fight!" said Jet facing Sokka.

"This doesn't feel right!" said Sokka desperately.

Jet glared at him, before looking at Zuko, who did the same.

"…Whatever, Let's get out of here," said Jet angrily, "It's starting to smell like viper-rats."

Jet turned away, and the girl helped the big guy walk as they followed him. Sokka looked back to Zuko and the elder with regret.

"Come on Sokka!" shouted Jet.

Sokka looked back before he walked away.

"Sokka," began Zuko and he caught his attention, "I'm disappointed; I expected better from you and your friends.

Sokka stiffened and clenched his fists before continuing onward.

Zuko let him go, and went back to the elder. He sheathed his swords, and knelt before the Lao Ren.

"Are you ok sir?" he asked him.

"Yes my boy, but that boy was right. You're a traitor to the Earth Kingdom for helping me."

"It doesn't matter," said Zuko, "…I'm homeless anyway."

**xXxXx**

Sokka was sitting in a slump.

Initially, he didn't like Jet for showing him up in the fight yesterday, but now he was just plain angry at him. He attacked an innocent man, someone who had nothing to do with the war. He was surprised that Lee, someone from the Earth Kingdom, was protecting him, but Jet's behavior far outranked any other thoughts.

'_Sokka. I'm disappointed; I expected better from you and your friends.'_

Lee's words were a harsh reminder to Sokka. He was one of the Avatar's companions, and being associated with the Avatar meant living up to a strong code of moral standards. He could see that Aang and Katara were already in Jet's palm, and he had to get them away from this place. He was a bad influence to Aang, but most especially to his sister. He could tell she was infatuated with Jet, but she had to know the truth, even though Sokka knew that it would crush her.

"Hey Sokka is Jet back yet?" asked Katara.

He heard his sister, and Aang was already with him, so he sighed.

"Yeah he's back, but we're leaving," said Sokka in frustration.

"But I made him this hat," said Katara disappointed.

"Your boyfriend Jet's a thug!" said Sokka hoping to deliver the news quickly and less painfully.

"What?" asked Katara in disbelief, "No he's not."

"He's messed up Katara," he shot back.

"He's not messed up," said Aang, "He's just got a different way of life; a really fun way of life."

"He almost beat and robbed a defenseless old man."

"Almost?" asked Aang.

"The only thing keeping him and his gang of merry men from going through with it was Lee."

"Lee?" Katara asked shocked.

"You mean the guy who saved us from the pirates?" asked Aang.

"No, Momo's friend," said Sokka, "Yes, that Lee."

"But we flew. How could Lee be here so quickly?" said Aang.

"It doesn't matter. What matters is that he was here and he saw Jet for who he really was: a bandit," said Sokka.

"I want to hear Jet's side of the story," said Katara firmly.

They immediately went to Jet's part of the hideout, and brought up Sokka's accusations.

"Sokka, you told them what happened, but you didn't mention the guy was Fire Nation?" said Jet.

"No, he _conveniently_ left that part out," said Katara.

"Fine, but even if he was Fire Nation, he was just a harmless civilian," said Sokka.

"He was an assassin Sokka," said Jet as he pulled out a dagger and stabbed it into the table, and unscrewed the handle revealing a vial of extremely potent venom, "See, there's a compartment for poison in the knife. He was sent to eliminate me; you helped save my life Sokka."

"I knew there was an explanation," said Katara relieved of Jet's innocence.

"I didn't see any knife," said Sokka angrily.

"That's because he was concealing it," said Jet.

"See Sokka," said Katara, "I'm sure you didn't notice the knife."

"There was no knife," reaffirmed Sokka, "No way was that on the old man, and even if there was, Lee kicked back Pipsqueak, and scared Smellerbee from retaliating. Lee is a very scary guy!"

"It was all an act by Smellerbee," said Jet, "And once that traitor wasn't looking, Smellerbee swiped it away."

Sokka looked at Katara and Aang, and felt disgusted that they were eating up Jet's garbage like fresh lychee nuts. They should have remembered how skilled Lee was. After all, he fended off two groups of dangerously armed thieves by himself while the rest of them tried to get a pirate ship in the water. The story was so unbelievable; Lee would have been able to stop Smellerbee even if he wasn't looking.

"I'm going back to the hut and packing my things."

Sokka was livid and just walked away back to where his stuff was. He started rolling up the group's supplies and other gear and put them in Appa's saddle. All that was left were their sleeping bags, and while he was tying them up Katara and Aang approached him.

"We can't leave now with the Fire Nation about to burn down a forest," said Katara.

"I'm sorry Katara, Jet's very smooth but we can't trust him," he replied.

"Oh, and _we_ can trust Lee?"

"That's different," said Sokka, "I admit, Lee was a jerk, but he helped us out once and I do think he is at least honest enough to talk straight with us. He agrees with me that Jet is trouble so we should leave now."

"You know what I think?" said Katara, "You're just jealous that he's a better warrior and a better leader."

"I'm not jealous of Jet," said Sokka, a little hurt by his sister's accusation, "It's just that my instincts-"

"Well my instincts tell me we need to stay a little longer and help Jet" said Katara angrily, "Come on Aang.

"Sorry Sokka."

Sokka felt betrayed as he watched his sister and Aang walk off. He spent the next couple of minutes grumbling and trying to figure out how to prove to his sister and Aang that Jet was crazy. He tired himself out after an hour and went to sleep, but awoke to the sounds of whispering. He pulled the cloth hanging from the door back and saw two freedom fighters swing to the forest floor. He glared, snatched the bison whistle from Aang's pack on Appa's saddle, and followed them, keeping a safe distance. He saw the cart they were pulling and the contents.

'Blasting jelly?' he thought, 'What are they up to?'

He continued to follow them until dawn when Jet stopped at a cliff edge. That was when he heard the plan to flood the entire Earth Kingdom town. Jet had been leading Aang and Katara on, and he knew he had to warn his friends. But before he could move, he was captured by Pipsqueak and Smellerbee, and taken to Jet.

"Sokka, I'm glad you decided to join us," he said smugly as Sokka was pushed to the ground in front of him.

"I heard your plan to destroy the Earth Kingdom town," massaging the aches he got from his two captors.

"The plan is to rid the valley of the Fire Nation," said Jet.

"There are people living there Jet; mothers and fathers and children," reasoned Sokka, hoping to talk the crazed war leader down.

"We can't win without making some sacrifices," brushing off Sokka's concerns.

"You lied to Aang and Katara about the Forest Fire," said Sokka before becoming enraged, "Lee was right about you! You're no different from a bandit!"

"Don't mention that filthy traitor to me!" shouted Jet before recomposing himself, "As for Aang and your sister, I only did that 'cause they don't understand the demands of war. Not like you and I do."

"I do understand, I understand there's nothing you won't do to get what you want," said Sokka bitterly, "Even if it means taking advantage of my sister, and using my mother's death as justification. I will never forgive you for that."

"…I was hoping you'd have an open mind," said Jet with mocking remorse, "but I can see you've made you choice."

He hooked one of Sokka's hands and pulled him toward him while Smellerbee got the other, and put it behind his back. Pipsqueak got a hold of the arm while Smellerbee reached for the other. While they tied Sokka's wrists together, Jet ordered them to take Sokka for a long "walk."

Sokka was put into a forced march for over half an hour. He started to trudge as he tried to find a way to get away from Jet's cronies without actually getting beat up in the process. He slowed down for a bit and Smellerbee aggressively went for him, ordering him to keep moving. Sokka tried to reason with them, but that too proved unsuccessful.

Sokka could tell he was not getting through to them, and he looked away. As he did, he saw the same traps that caught Momo earlier, and thought of a plan. He told them Jet had a lot to learn about being a leader, and ran off ignoring Smellerbee's protests. Sokka dashed into forest avoiding the traps. Smellerbee and Pipsqueak however, didn't even notice them, and they both got caught.

After criticizing their knot work, Sokka ran quickly through the forest. His first idea was to go to the dam, but he realized that he would have had to fight all of the Freedom Fighters that were there, and if he was beaten, which was a very real possibility, the town would still be destroyed. He ran to the village instead, hoping he would make it in time to warn them.

**xXxXx**

Zuko was outside of the elder's home. The elder, his daughter, a middle aged woman, and his granddaughter, a teenager about Zuko's age and blushing furiously at him, were saying thank you to him for helping them with escort the elder back home.

"I packed in some cured meats for the road. They'll last for a while," said the daughter, looking healthier than she was yesterday.

"Thank you ma'am," said Zuko as he put on his pack.

"Um…" began the granddaughter holding a wooden box, twiddling her thumbs, and averting her eyes away from Zuko's face, "I… I … I have some medicine. It may help you along the way."

She stretched out her arms and presented it to him with a bowed head. She looked up slightly to see his reaction.

"This will come in handy," said Zuko smiling courteously and as he got it, his hand brushed hers, "Thank you."

She faced down to the ground, and her face was absolutely red with affection as Zuko gently took the medicine from her.

"You're welcome here anytime," said Lao Ren.

Zuko fastened his swords on his back, and bowed to his hosts before walking away. He left the town, and acknowledged a Fire Nation guard who thanked him for looking after the elder, and went off into the woods. He would have to move quickly if he wanted to avoid that Jet guy, and get out of the woods without any kind of conflict. He wasn't afraid of the fight, but the terrain. Jet and his men most likely knew the woods inside and out, and he would be at a serious disadvantage.

Just when he figured things were going to go without any problems, he heard a rustling. He drew his swords, and faced the source of the sound. It was Sokka running out of the bushes. He immediately stopped as he saw Zuko take a stance against him.

"Lee!" yelped Sokka with his hands up.

"Sokka?" began Zuko, relieved and suspicious, "What are you doing here? Are you and your friend going to attack me now?"

"First of all, Jet isn't my friend," said Sokka angrily, "Second, I was looking for the village."

"Why?" asked Zuko as he lowered his blades.

"Jet wants to flood the valley; he's going to blow the reservoir."

"What did you say?" asked Zuko in disbelief, "That would kill everyone and everything in the valley. What happened to 'I'm a Freedom Fighter?"

"Some sick thing about it being a necessary sacrifice, a demand of war," said Sokka, not paying attention to Zuko's sarcasm.

The last three words filled Zuko with anger, hatred, and sadness as he clutched the part of his robe with his handkerchief.

"…I see," said Zuko.

"Sorry Lee, I don't have time, I have to warn them," said Sokka.

Sokka went into a random direction when Zuko grabbed him from behind and spun him around to face him.

"You're going the wrong way, the village is that direction," he said pointing to the south, "And you're going to need someone to vouch for you."

"Who?" asked Sokka.

"Me, of course," said Zuko a little frustrated that Sokka didn't see how obvious the answer was.

Sokka smiled, finally catching on, and Zuko just sighed as he sheathed his swords.

'Here we go again,' thought Zuko before opening his mouth, "Let's go, we're wasting time."

He and Sokka ran back to the town. On the way a thought occurred to Zuko.

"Hold on! It hasn't rained here for weeks; I bet the reservoir isn't even full," said Zuko, "Even if he did blow it, the water wouldn't be enough to flood the entire area."

"He tricked Aang and Katara into helping him fill it up with water," said Sokka.

"WHAT?" shouted Zuko as he heard the name of Sokka's sister, "First she takes a stupid scroll, now this?"

"I know!" agreed Sokka.

"You know at first, I thought she just had a lapse in good judgment, but this clinches it. Your sister _is_ stupid!"

"Hey, don't call my sister stupid. She's just naïve. Jet smooth talked her into doing things for him," said Sokka angrily.

"Naïve is just another way of saying foolish. And as for that guy, isn't it your job as an older brother to keep strange boys away from her?" asked Zuko.

"Hey! I'm a great older brother! She's just stubborn, and she never listens to me," said Sokka as they arrived at the village gates.

"Lee, what are you doing back to soon? Is something wrong?" asked the guard who greeted him earlier.

"Zhang, get everyone in the square," said Zuko as he recalled the guard's name, "The elder especially. This person has an announcement to make. It's an emergency."

Zhang looked at Zuko, and then to Sokka and sighed. "Lee" helped the elder, so it was only fair he do him a favor. He ordered the other guards to call for an emergency announcement, and very shortly, the square filled with people. Sokka looked nervously, but Zuko put his hand on his shoulder.

"Calm down," said Zuko, "I'm right behind you."

Sokka took a deep breath and stepped forward.

"People of… the town," began Sokka, "you're all in danger!"

The people began to mutter.

"There is a group of people in the forest, and they're going to blow up the dam!"

Worried shouts rang throughout the village

"Listen to me!" shouted Sokka, "You don't have much time! We need to get everyone out of here!"

"Why should we believe you?" demanded on of the Fire Nation soldiers, "For all we know, you could be a spy sent to lead us into an ambush!"

Everyone, even the Earth Kingdom citizens began to side with the soldier's claims.

"Listen!" began Zuko, "I don't know him well enough, but I do know that Sokka is an honorable man. He's telling the truth."

"Isn't that Lee, the boy who saved the elder?"

"He can be trusted right?"

"I don't know."

"He could be in cahoots with those bandits too."

Zuko looked at Sokka grimly, but a loud thud sounded from behind. It was Elder Lao Ren with his family as he struck his cane to the ground.

"I say, we listen to them!" said the elder.

"Elder?" asked one of the guardsmen.

"Lee is a man of honor, I would trust him with my life without a second thought," said the elder, "And as for the boy who is warning us now, Sokka is it? Even though he was with the man who accosted me, he defended my life just as well as Lee did. They are both men of honor, and I say we put our trust in them."

There was silence throughout the people until one man spoke up.

"…If the elder trusts them, then I suppose we should as well."

"I agree," said an Earth Kingdom citizen, "He may be Fire Nation, but the elder has looked after us too."

As the villagers slowly began to agree, Zhang cleared his throat.

"Silence!" he shouted over the whispers, "I will take the elder at his word. Everyone evacuate, but in an orderly fashion! Don't bother taking anything with you; we've probably wasted enough time talking about what to do."

Sokka smiled brightly, and Zuko nodded in approval. The guards began to form up, and began to lead the citizens of the town out. Sokka was at the head of the line, and led them up to higher ground, while Zuko stayed along the rear to make sure no one was left behind. Because of the efficient organization of the whole event, they were able to get everyone out safely, and when the guards did a head count and confirmed everyone was there, Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom citizens alike, Sokka took out the bison whistle from his pocket and blew it hard.

"What are you doing?" asked Zuko.

"There's still a chance that I can stop Jet," said Sokka, "Will you stay here, and make sure no one goes back?"

"No problem," said Zuko.

"Thanks Lee."

Sokka ran off deeper into the woods, and blew the whistle harder. Not long afterward, Appa landed near him and he got on. After getting off the ground, he headed to the reservoir, and saw a bright light fly into the air. Sokka squinted and saw it was a fire arrow. He went faster as the dam blew, and saw the charging, merciless water raged through the valley like a stampede of raging komodo-rhinos. Trees were easily uprooted, birds flew away chaotically, and animals fled for their lives. He looked back and saw the village. It was quickly engulfed in the billowing torrent, but the raging water just kept coming and piling itself layer after watery layer. He was glad that everyone was out of there, and when he saw Aang, Katara, and Jet on the cliffs he went in that direction.

"-the Fire Nation is gone and this valley will be safe," he heard Jet say.

"It will be safe," Sokka said as he arrived, "Without you."

"Sokka!" cried out Katara happily.

"I warned the villagers about your plan… just in time," said Sokka glaring at the half-frozen rebel leader."

"What?" shouted Jet incredulously.

"At first they didn't believe me. The fire nation soldiers assumed I was a spy, but two people vouched for me. The old man you attacked and Lee," said Sokka as he recalled the events, "They didn't believe Lee right away, but the elder urged them to trust us; we got everyone out in time"

"Sokka, you fool!" snapped Jet angrily, "We could have freed this valley."

"Who would be free? Everyone would be dead," shot back Sokka.

"You traitor."

"No Jet," said Sokka, disappointed, "You became the traitor when stopped protecting innocent people."

Jet looked to Katara who looked away from him in disgust.

"Katara, please help me," he pleaded.

Katara had had enough.

"Good bye Jet," she said, crying at the fact that she trusted him, and he used her.

When she got on, Sokka whipped the reigns, and they flew off.

"I thought you were going to the dam," said Aang as they picked up altitude, "How come you went to the town instead?"

"Let me guess, your instincts told you," said Katara.

"Hey, sometimes they're right," said Sokka, satisfied.

"Um Sokka, you know we're going the wrong way, right?" asked Aang.

They both smiled while Sokka was surprised

"And sometimes they're wrong," he said as he turned Appa around.

They flew over the town, and Sokka waved at all the towns people. Everyone, even the Fire Nation soldiers cheered as they turned a blind eye to them just this one time. Katara was happy that her brother saved everyone and regretted not believing him.

"Hey Sokka?" she began catching her brother's attention, "I want to say-"

"Oooh, wait," said Sokka as something caught his eye and he took Appa to the ground, "Sorry Katara, hold that thought."

**xXxXx**

Zuko walked through the woods when a shadow appeared in front of him and began to grow bigger. He heard a roar from the sky, and looked up to see Appa land in front of him.

"Lee!" shouted Sokka as he held the reigns, "Why aren't you with the people?"

"The townspeople were safe, I didn't have a reason to stick around with them anymore," answered Zuko.

"Well… do you need a lift to the next town?" asked Sokka, "I kind of owe you for sticking up for me."

Zuko considered it, and even though he had hoped to avoid the Avatar group, his feet were still tired and he thought it would be great to get another look on the world from the sky again.

"Sure," he answered.

He climbed up on Appa, and sat himself comfortably looking over the saddle. Appa flew up, and Sokka asked where he wanted to go. Zuko told him there was a large town a fifty miles away in the northeast, and pointed to the direction that Sokka should go.

"So, Katara," began Sokka as he headed toward Lee's destination, "You were saying something earlier?"

"Yeah," she said taking a deep breath since Lee was in front of her, "I wanted to say sorry for not trusting you."

"It's ok Katara," said Sokka, "Just promise to avoid boys like Jet from now on."

"No problem," said Katara surprised at the two things that didn't happen.

The first was Sokka going into a lecture on how she should have trusted his judgment and how he was always right about "things like that." The second was that Lee was not asking anything about Jet, or looking for a reason to call her stupid. She looked at Lee, and despite how she still felt about his rude attitude, she felt he deserved some thanks as well.

"And Lee," she began catching Zuko's attention, "Thank you for sticking up for my brother."

"…Don't mention it," replied Zuko.

The ride was quiet for several minutes before Sokka cleared his throat.

"So Lee," began Sokka, "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," said Zuko.

"You're Earth Kingdom," began Sokka, "Why did you protect the old man?"

Zuko considered the question carefully before answering.

"Aside from him being able to get me into the town, I helped out the old man because he needed it, and because he had a family waiting for him back at his home… I know what it's like to wait for someone to come home, and abruptly find out he's not coming back," said Zuko as his thoughts drifted to his cousin, "If I did nothing, if I had let that Jet person do what he was going to do, it would have been the same as me inflicting the same kind of pain I felt on someone else. I could never forgive myself for that."

"Lee…" began Sokka solemnly.

"What about you?" asked Zuko, "Why did you save the village? Jet did have a point; it was filled with Fire Nation soldiers. Why not let it happen?"

Sokka listened to the question. The way that "Lee" said it made it seem like more of a test. Katara and Aang wanted to hear this answer as well, and they both scooted over to hear it.

"I guess… it's because you were right about what you said when I went back with Jet," said Sokka recalling the event after Jet tried to attack the elder, "I travel with the Avatar, which means I fight for something greater than some random victory. I fight to help end this war, and for the peace to come. If I can't put aside my hatred for something more important, then I don't deserve to be here."

Aang and Katara smiled warmly at Sokka for his answer, and Zuko smirked, hearing the honest in it.

"I see," said Zuko.

Zuko looked out of the saddle, and a thought came to him as he enjoyed the view.

'There may be hope for them after all,' he thought as they flew off to the horizon.

**Another chapter done! I hope you guys like it.**

**For disclaimer purposes, I should let you know that I do use quotes from the actual show. I don't own these either; I just use them for my own purpose.**

**Author's Notes:**

**Lao Ren in Mandarin pinyin format literally means "Old Man."**

**Thank you for reading and please review.**


	3. Visits from Spirits

**Hello everyone, thank you all for your reviews; it really make me happy to hear from you all.**

**Now, I did say I would give chapters of back story before, and I was going to do that originally by making this chapter take place during "The Storm." However, I got a rather intriguing review, and it made me think. I decided not to do that. I will, instead keep you guys on your toes about Zuko's origins. I'll hint at it, and avoid doing big reveals until the time is right (Toph's Maniacal, Evil Laugh). Also I pushed back what happened to Iroh to later on in the story.**

**One more thing… I asked if you guys think this should be one massive story, or if I should cut it down into parts. So far I have a 1:1 vote, and I don't think it's fair to make a decision based on that. So please tell me so I have an idea of what to do. Thank you very much!**

**Now, here is the next chapter of **_**Homeless Dragon**_**. I hope it meets your expectations.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender. It is the property of its creators and Nickelodeon. **

Chapter 3: Visits from Spirits.

_Zuko ran frantically through the woods. The rain pounded against the muddy ground and against his armor like a drummer. Around him he saw soldiers of various ages running with him all clad in armor, with handkerchiefs identical to Zuko's tied around their arms. _

_A piercing whistle ripped through the air, and a man's screams rang out. _

_Zuko didn't look. _

_He couldn't look._

_He could only run; run to live._

_Another whistle, another scream. It was the same process for the next agonizingly long minute. The running footsteps eventually came down to just him and another person. Zuko looked behind him. He barely got a good look at the person, but caught the person's attention._

"_What are you doing? Keep moving! We gotta get-"_

_The whistle ended his words._

"Commander!" Zuko shouted as he shot up from his sleep with an outstretched hand.

He breathed heavily, wiped his now sweaty hair out of his face, and collected his thoughts for a moment all at the same time.

After taking several minutes to calm down, he took a deep breath, and looked up at the sky of the forest that he was sleeping in and saw that daylight was veiled by the trees and a thick layer of cloud. He threw off the blanket that covered him, tied his hair into its low ponytail after getting some of the leaves out, and immediately got his stuff ready.

Zuko stretched his legs and arms to get the rest of the sleep out of his system. When he felt ready to go, he gathered his stuff and went off into the forest, looking for a trail that could lead to the main road so that he could get to an herbalist on a nearby mountain and replenish his medical supplies. He looked around him constantly on alert for the slightest disturbances, but it was difficult as the wind began to pick up speed.

Zuko felt lost, and he went to pine tree and climbed it. When he got up high enough, he could see the mountain he had to get to, and went back down before going in the direction it was in. For close to an hour, Zuko felt he was making good progress toward his goal until he heard birds take flight hurriedly, and turned in the direction of the noise and crouched down. Zuko wanted to get to the mountain quickly without distraction, but he couldn't risk getting caught by bandits or a predator either. He figured it was best to investigate what drove the birds away just to be on the safe side.

Zuko stalked from tree to tree, keeping his body low to avoid detection. He focused on the sounds around him for any hints as to what was responsible for the sudden sounds, but could hear nothing because of the wind.

He crept closer, and when he began to hear the uniform marching of armored boots, then the clanging of metal, he slowed down. His suspicions began to grow, and curiosity demanded he keep moving to confirm. He continued until he heard and remembered the loud roar of a komodo rhino.

"Fire Nation," he whispered.

Zuko's mind immediately told him to go the other way. He suspected a war caravan, with soldiers that were heavily armed and protecting vital supplies for the war. However, he realized that if there was a war caravan, then they had to be using a supply line, and supply lines meant a road of some kind. All he had to do was to get to it, and wait for the soldiers to leave the area, then he could use the road to get to where he needed to go. He started to once again head to the direction he remembered the sound coming from.

Even though he was far away, Zuko kept a low profile and treaded carefully, in case there were any reconnaissance teams in the area. He was careful to watch where he took his step, and looked at the ground in front of him from time to time in order to avoid twigs and anything else that could make a loud noise. He eventually left the wooded areas, saw a cliff edge, and when he checked to see if there was no one in the area, he got on his belly. He squirmed his way to get a good look, and when he got there, he noticed a komodo-rhino pulling a very heavy, iron cage. But that didn't get his attention as much as the men that were escorting it: the Yu Yan Archers.

His mind went into instant survival mode, and for the first time in three years, memories of terror and dread filled his heart. There was no way he could fight the archers. He knew, from personal experience, their lethality, and they would kill him before he could stand. He was about to flee slowly and cautiously when he caught a glimpse of the inside of the cage causing him to stay. There was a boy, a bald boy with yellow and orange clothing, and what looked like a blue tattoo on his head.

'That's…!' his thoughts ran wild as he lifted his head in shock.

Some rocks fell from the cliff edge where Zuko was, and he quickly pushed back and laid down flat on the ground, but it was too late. As he landed on his belly, one of the Yu Yan drew his bow, and shot a whistling arrow at the cliff face. Zuko heard it and quickly rolled, to his left, and not a moment later, four inches of arrow stuck clean through the cliff and into the area where he neck was previously. He held his breath, and his swords together not wanting to risk anything to give his presence to the nearly superhuman archers. He saw to his left something moving, it was a chipmunk-hare burrowing out, and approach the cliff face and stand for all the soldiers to see before running off. The Yu Yan figured that the animal's burrowing was probably what caused the noise in the first place, and motioned the others to continue onward.

When Zuko heard the archers continue moving with their prize after a few moments, he slowly exhaled, and began to register what just happened. He had once again nearly been killed by the greatest archers in the world, and seen the Avatar… again.

He groaned at the fact that the kid was once again in trouble, but was relieved to know that he was alive. He briefly began to wonder what to do next, but he remembered what he had told the young Avatar weeks ago.

"_If you're ever in trouble, I'll help you out. It's kind of what I do for people anyway."_

Zuko wondered why he even bothered asking himself. He had promised to help him. Sure he had helped Sokka almost two weeks ago, but that didn't count. He was very specific on who he owed. And besides, whether he was indebted to Aang or not, he couldn't leave the kid in the hands of his people's military. He sighed.

'At least I'll be even with him,' he thought.

When the sounds of the wagon and its escort could no longer be heard, Zuko ran to a nearby tree, and looked down into the cliff. It wasn't far to the bottom, but it was too high to simply jump down either. He noticed some vines and tree roots jutting out of the cliff face, and thought he could use them, but upon closer examination they didn't seem very safe. He searched his bag, got a rope from his pack, tied it to the tree, and repelled to the bottom. He then took off his outer Earth Kingdom robe, and pulled some leather strips from his pack. He removed his swords from his person, and wrapped a very long leather strip around the sheath, and two smaller ones around the handles. His swords stood out, and he could not risk anyone recognizing it after this "rescue" mission, after all Zukonever used such a unique-looking weapon as _him_.

When he was done with the wrapping, he pulled out a laughing oni mask painted blue and white before hiding his things and following the Avatar's trail.

**xXxXx**

In the darkness, the fortress glittered like a harsh grey, red, and gold flame against the mountains that required three great walls to contain its fury. Zuko had carefully followed the Yu Yan to the fortress along with their quarry. The oni mask of the blue spirit was tied to his belt, and his swords were at the ready. He hid in some bushes and began to prepare for his clandestine operation.

Whenever he did things like this, he could not afford to not see anything. He rearranged his ponytail in a way that he no longer had bangs, tucked it to the back of his shirt, and pulled out a hood that was folded inside his shirt and put in on to make sure any loose hairs stay out of his face. He also removed his eye patch. Just because he couldn't see very well with that eye, didn't mean he couldn't see with it at all. When he was sure he nothing was out of place, he waited patiently for a supply wagon to come by that evening, and at the same time, he was devising a plan to break in and rescuing the Avatar.

"It's been a long time since I was the Blue Spirit," he whispered his thoughts to himself as he looked at the mask.

The Blue Spirit was notorious in Fire Nation lands. He only used this persona in Fire Nation territory or in Fire Nation military camps, to eliminate the possibility of being recognized by his own people since his scar was a dead giveaway. He had been banished and presumed dead for three years, and he had no intention of proving otherwise.

Normally, he would just charge in and play things by ear, but since his goal was breaking the Fire Nation's most formidable adversary out of custody while in a Fire Nation fortress and guarded by the nation's most elite archers, a plan was probably the wisest thing he could have at the moment.

He went through all of the scenarios in his head, until he heard the wagon that he had been waiting for. He figured the best plan was to just sneak in to the prison area, get the kid, and get out. It was simple plan that could be changed if it needed to.

"_In other words, you don't have a plan,"_ said a voice from the past in the back of his head.

He scowled at the knowledge his plan wasn't much of a plan, but smiled at the thought of the one who said those words before he slipped the mask on and immediately went to the road.

…

The wagon was hauled by a Komodo-Rhino and when it reached a certain point on the road, Zuko quietly burst from the ground and rode underneath the wagon. He waited patiently as it approached the fortress. The wagon stopped. Zuko loosened his hold on the wagon, but still held a firm grip. The guard began to check the wagon, and when he approached the side, Zuko let go at the last possible moment and got into the wagon before the guards had a chance to check or notice him.

"All clear, go on in," said the guard.

The wagon started moving and soon enough, the gates began to open. Once he was inside the fortress itself, he kept low and waited until it stopped, and was bunched together with other supply wagons. After taking a deep breath, he immediately got out, saw he was behind the second wall, and used the shadows and darkness to sneak past guards until he arrived and his behind some crates. He looked over them and saw the army was assembling in the area behind the third inner wall. He looked for an alternative route when he noticed some scaffolding. Zuko quickly went for it and climbed to the top of the wall using the scaffolding, and some of the unfinished masonry that was yet to be covered with sheet metal. When he got to the top snuck his way around the wall. He found a rope and figured he could use it; he got it, and continued along the wall. As he did, he overheard a voice. It was proclaiming the glory of the Fire Nation army, and the capture of the Avatar. It served Zuko's needs as the soldiers were all distracted by the man's impassioned speech.

He spotted the fortress cistern from the wall, and slid down to the ground on the rope he found. He then dashed for it and went inside the piping. He navigated through the maze of wet cylindrical metal, and eventually found a service ladder that led to the first floor of the fortress. He climbed it and got onto a railing platform before he entered into the building, and took a quick glance at his surroundings, before going up the stairs.

Zuko had managed to get to the prison level of the tower. He slowly opened the door to the hallway, and noticed a single firebender guard walking the opposite way. He got out, slipped into a maintenance closet on the opposite side of the hall, and looked for anything that he could use to help him out in dealing with the guards. He found some chains and some chamois cloths, and took them with him. There was also a bucket that he thought could come in handy later.

He left the broom closet quietly, and began to quickly tail the Firebender without making a sound. The Firebender began to feel uneasy and turned around, but before he had time to react, Zuko elbowed him hard in the gut, and knocked him to the ground unconscious. He dragged his body to the broom closet quickly, and took his helmet and the bucket from earlier before taking off into the hall again.

Zuko had arrived at a turn in the hallway, and thought he heard frogs in the corner. When he got to the intersection of the hall, he drew out his pearl dagger, and he exposed it slightly and saw four guards looking at the ground in the reflection.

'So many for one cell… that must be where the kid is,' he thought to himself.

He set the bucket, now filled with water, down and threw the helmet at them and hid while they were distracted. He heard the approach of one of the guards, and he leapt up to the ceiling and waited for his chance to pounce. When the guard entered into the hallway, and just in front of him from below, he jumped down and shot a flame. The flame was only large enough to distract the guard while he knocked him out with a martial arts combo. He quickly tied him up with part of the chain, and gagged him with a chamois cloth before hanging him by his wrists. He heard more guards approaching, and returned to the same position. Just as the next set of guards arrived, he struck them from behind, and did the same thing to them as he did to the first. All he had left now was one chain, and one more piece of chamois cloth. He dashed in with the bucket of water in one hand, and a throwing knife in the other. He quickly threw his knife at the signal horn as the guard was about to blow it. The bender quickly got into a stance of attack, but Zuko got the bucket and tossed the water just as he shot the fire blast, dousing it. In the same motion, he swept the legs of his opponent with the bucket, knocking him to the floor. He gripped the guard's neck quickly, cutting off blood flow to the brain. The guard fell unconscious in a matter of seconds, and Zuko checked his pulse to make sure the guard was alive. When Zuko confirmed the guard was, he tied him up with the last chain, and gagged him before getting the keys and opening the door.

Zuko slid in quickly, and saw Aang chained to posts. He drew his swords, and twirled them around before he ran to him. Aang screamed loudly, and closed his eyes in fear as Zuko charged at him and cut the chains.

After a moment, he opened his eyes and stared at him. Zuko could see that the kid was terrified. He leaned toward him, with a finger over the grinning mouth over the mask.

"Shh! Do you want to alert the guards?" he whispered harshly.

"…Lee?" asked Aang bewildered, "Is that you? What are you doing here?"

"You're lucky I saw you. I'm making good on my promise, and helping you out, since you seem to have a penchant for trouble," answered Zuko.

Zuko cut the shackles around the Avatar's wrists and ankles with expert precision. He put one of his dual dao swords in the sheath, and walked to the door.

"Let's go," said Zuko motioning the boy to follow him.

"Ok," said Aang.

The two left the confinement room. Aang saw Lee's handiwork on the guard outside his cell, and later with the other three at the hallway intersection. Aang was thankful the guards were alive, despite how they treated him, and quickly remembered what Sokka said at Jet's tree house. Lee was indeed a very scary guy, and he was glad Lee wasn't their enemy. They walked a little further down the halls when Aang's curiosity fell on Lee's outfit.

"So… what's with the mask?" he asked.

"So I don't get recognized," said Zuko, "I try to blend in both the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom held areas, and I can't really do that if people know what I look like."

"Oh," said Aang understanding, "Anyway, thanks Lee, for getting me out of here."

"You're welcome, but we seriously have to stop meeting like this."

Aang looked back to him.

"Like what?" asked Aang.

"This," said Zuko hoarsely trying to include the current setting into the conversation, "It seems that every time I run into you guys, you're all in some kind of trouble. First it was pirates, then that Jet guy, and now the Fire Nation army. I mean is this normal for you?"

"Normally no," said Aang, "But whenever we did, me and my friends usually figure out a way to get away from it."

"_Did_?" asked Zuko catching the tense of Aang's words, "Why not '_do_?"

"Well, since you showed up… you've kind of been the one to bail us out," said Aang.

"…I see," groaned Zuko, "Speaking of which, where are your friends? Have they been captured too?"

"They're sick," said Aang, "I was going to get medicine for them, when I got caught."

Zuko now felt a little bad for being frustrated at Aang earlier.

"Oh, well then we better get moving," he said, "Now for the record, when we get out of here, we're even. As fun as it is for us to _bond_ like this I…" he stopped when he heard nothing but silence.

"Are you even listen-"

Zuko turned around to find Aang trying to catch some frogs, and his good eye twitched behind the mask.

'I take it back, there is no hope for this group,' he thought.

He walked up to Aang, and dragged him by the collar to the exit, ignoring something about his friends having to suck on the frogs.

Right now, all that mattered to him was getting out of the fortress quietly and quickly so that he could leave these kids and be on his way, away from them… but that wasn't going to happen at all.

Unfortunately, the escape from the fortress did not go as Zuko planned. He and Aang had both taken too long to get away, giving the guards enough time to figure out what was going on. The alarm rang out, and they both had to fight their way out of the fortress. Aang naturally held them off, and he was surprised by Lee. He knew he was a good fighter, but he was impressed that he was also able to keep up with him since Katara and Sokka usually couldn't.

They fought very hard, and they had managed to get past two of the three walls without too much stress. However, they had failed to get past the third, and were trapped between an entire army and a locked gate. Zuko stood swords drawn between a line of firebenders prepared to shoot a volley at him and Aang. When they fired, Aang quickly stood in between and made an air shield to safeguard them from the blast.

"Hold your fire! The Avatar must be captured alive!" shouted the man who had given the speech.

Zuko immediately put his swords to Aang's neck in a scissor-like fashion, and held him as a hostage.

"L-Le-" began Aang but Zuko tightened the scissor.

"Don't say anything," he whispered quickly, "Just play along."

The Fire Nation leader gave him a fierce look, and Zuko's eyes widened behind his mask momentarily as he realized who he was.

'Zhao…? Great…' he sighed inwardly.

Zuko remembered Zhao back when he still lived in the homeland. He was supposedly a capable captain who led the country to many victories, but Zuko knew him to be nothing but sycophant. And when Zuko was in exile, he learned that he was a short-tempered man of nearly unparalleled cruelty. He had taken pride in his loyal service to his father, but that was also his greatest weakness. He was now gambling on Zhao's pride as their means of escape, hoping he would rather let the Avatar get away to be recaptured rather than have to tell his father that he failed to keep a boy alive till the end of the war.

"Open the gates," said Zhao, confirming Zuko's hopes.

"But Admiral…!" said one of the officers.

"Do it now!" he ordered.

As the gates opened, and Zuko leaned in as he and Aang walked backwards to freedom.

"Good, keep acting like I'm about to kill you, and walk slowly," instructed Zuko in whispers when the gates closed in front of them.

"Can't we just run now?" Aang whispered back, genuinely afraid.

"No!" Zuko objected silently, "If you don't play hostage, then we'll both be killed. So calm down and be patient; we're almost out of this mess."

Zuko however felt that this was way too easy. There was no way the Fire Nation was just going to let them off the hook like this.

"When we get into the forest, you run, got it?" Zuko whispered through the mask after seeing the wooded sanctuary.

Aang nodded readily, and Zuko returned to thinking about what they were planning. Suddenly, he saw a twinkle from one of the battlements of the fortress.

A whistle ripped through the air.

The world went black.

**xXxXx**

Aang was terrified out of his wits. He had just been captured by Zhao, and now had two swords at his neck. However, Lee reassured him that it was an act, and Aang calmed down. Lee, though only a recent acquaintance, always helped him and the others out in someway, and Aang knew he could be trusted.

Suddenly he heard and felt something whiz by his head, and heard what sounded like a loud ringing noise. The swords broke away from the scissor form they were used in, and their master fell hard to the ground with his mask dislodged.

Aang looked to see Lee on the ground, alive but unconscious. He bent air into the ground to create cover out of dust, and rushed to his side. He saw something that caught his eye; it was something red on his face. He removed the dislodged mask, and was shocked. He had always wondered what was behind his eye patch, and it was revealed to be an angry burn scar on the left side of his face. He snapped out of his surprise, and returned to the situation at hand.

Lee had saved him, and he couldn't leave him. He forced the swords back in the sheath, got the older boy onto his back, and quickly dashed into the forest before Zhao's men could get to them.

Aang had run for a good hour before finally stopping. He was tired, and he needed to rest. He set Lee on the ground, and gathered some leaves together as a make shift bed and put the young man on them. He got up into a tree, and laid down on a branch. He slowly drifted off to sleep, hoping that Zhao's men wouldn't find them.

**xXxXx**

_Aang was standing alone on a field of freshly fallen snow. Momo and Appa were with him, and the two were playing around in the soft, white powder. Aang couldn't resist and immediately followed his two friends' example._

_They were all having fun, when suddenly the snow turned to ashes, and a merciless wind kicked them into clouds. Aang blew them all away only to reveal an entire Fire Nation army in front of him. The soldiers, their komodo-rhinos, and their machines and war drums all beat the ground and the air ferociously as they marched and cried out for blood._

_He was nervous and terrified at the sight. But just as all hope seemed lost, comforting hands rested on both of his shoulders: two on one side and one on the other. He looked up, and saw Katara and Sokka on one side giving him their comforting smiles, and on the other he saw… Lee? He gave him a reassuring smirk, and drew his swords at the ready. He looked to the other side, and saw Sokka arming himself and Katara bending water to her command. Appa also roared bravely and Momo shrieked on Appa's head._

_Aang felt his confidence return, and got his staff._

_The army charged, and the six of them immediately readied themselves for battle._

Aang woke up from his dream, and noticed that it was morning. The sunlight pierced through the thick treetops, and sent their warm light to the forest floor. Aang gave a good stretch, and looked down to the forest floor at Lee and wondered why he had seen him in a dream.

'Maybe it was coincidence; he was pretty cool in the prison and all,' he thought.

Somehow, that didn't sound right at all. Something deep in his mind and heart told him it couldn't have been a coincidence. He looked at Lee, and wondered. He was different from the other people he met on his journey north. Lee had run into the group twice, and always left an impression and more on them.

He was a talented fighter, and when they parted ways with him, the group had all learned something about how they should go about their way. Katara had been more careful with what she did since she took the scroll from the pirates, and Sokka had learned that there were more important things worth fight for since the encounter with Jet. Aang wondered what he had learned.

"_So calm down and be patient…"_

Patience.

Aang realized it was his own impatience that got him caught. He probably ran so fast to the herbalist that he was instantly recognized by Fire Nation scouts. And again in the prison, he wanted to catch the frogs that he had earlier to refreeze them rather than wait to get out and get a freshly frozen batch from the swamp. Although he was still alive, Aang realized it was Lee who paid the price for his impatience.

The three of them had all learned something from their encounters with Lee, and he was grateful for it. Granted, Lee didn't want to be involved with them, but he had quickly become a familiar and reliable ally.

Again, Aang remembered his dream, but was it more than a dream?

Could it have been fate.

He continued to think about it, and the more he did the more he began to believe it was. It did make sense. Maybe the run-ins _**were**_ fate. Perhaps seeing Lee and having his help in a dream wasn't just a coincidence maybe it was meant to happen, like Katara finding him in the iceberg.

'It could have been a message from the spirits!' thought Aang excitedly.

But he couldn't ask Lee to come with them.

Lee had broken him out of prison. They were even just as-

"Katara and Sokka are still sick!" he shouted in realization.

"Ughh…"

Aang looked down, as Lee began to wake up. His eyes opened and he turned his head to see him.

"You're awake!" exclaimed Aang.

"Where are… we?" he groaned, feeling a massive headache.

"We're in the forest; we got away from Zhao's men just in time," explained Aang.

"I remember… an arrow, I think… hitting my mask," he muttered as he tried to get up.

"Yeah, you were knocked out," said Aang.

Lee rubbed his forehead, and looked at Aang.

"You carried me out of there?" he asked.

Aang nodded.

"Thanks, I guess I still owe you one," said Lee.

"No, you rescued me from that prison, we're even," replied the Avatar, half expecting it.

"No, you kept me from being captured; there must be something I can do to repay you." he offered.

Aang thought about the boy's offer.

'I guess Lee could help me find some more frogs so that me, Katara, and Sokka could return to out trip to the North Pole, and find a teacher… for… me…'

Aang smiled. He came up with an idea; a way that Lee could pay him back. A sly grin formed on his face, and Lee had a look of discomfort on his face at the sight of the young monk's expression.

"Tell me," began Aang, "Do you know an herbalist on the mountain not too far from here?"

"Yes, I was on my way there," he replied cautiously.

"Meet me there tomorrow at noon. I'll tell you what you can do for us," he said before leaping away on to the branches.

"Wait, '_us_?" asked Lee fruitlessly.

Aang looked back briefly at Lee as he hopped from tree to tree, and his grin returned.

"Sokka and Katara wouldn't mind, I'm sure of it," he said to himself.

Aang went immediately to the swamps and enthusiastically got more frozen frogs. He quickly ran back and arrived at the temple mid morning where Sokka and Katara were lying down peacefully. He pulled out the frozen frogs as he approached his two friends who were sleeping on Appa, who woke up to the sounds of his footsteps.

"Suck on these, they'll make you feel better," said Aang with an enthusiastic grin.

He stuck the frogs in both of their mouths.

"Aang, how was your trip? Did you make any new friends?" asked a dazed Sokka as he sucked on the frozen amphibian.

"Yeah, I think I did," he answered.

"Well, that's great Aang. So, who's the new friend?" asked Katara, a little tired from the illness as she sucked on her frog.

Aang wanted to surprise them, so he just smiled.

"You guys focus on getting better and rest for the rest of the day, ok?" said Aang, "I'll tell you all about it later.

"Ok," said Katara.

Aang plopped himself on Appa's tail, and quickly fell asleep.

"MMM… this is tashty," said Sokka.

No sooner than he said that, the frogs thawed out, and came alive again. Sokka felt the squirming and actually looked down at what was in his mouth, and promptly spit it out. Katara shrieked, and did the same. The started gagging and spitting as Momo chased down the frogs.

**xXxXx**

Zuko arrived at the place he had seen the Avatar in the cage while he was being escorted by the Yu Yan archers. He found his pack right where he left it, and put the mask in the bag. He got the outer Earth Kingdom robe, and put it on. He found a pool of water nearby, and washed his face, and hair. After drying himself off, he fixed his ponytail letting his bangs fall, and combing the moist messy hair with his hands, and put his eye patch back on.

Once he was refreshed, he got his pack and made his way to the herbalist. His thoughts drifted to the Avatar, and what he had told him to do. Aang wanted to meet him tomorrow at noon, and he wondered what he would ask for. He had hoped to repay his debt to him already, but he felt being rescued from Zhao's clutches was worth another favor. He couldn't help but wonder what that was as his mind drifted to many different possibilities

He felt tired, and thought it would be a good idea to rest before heading out. He got his things, went into a nearby clearing off the road, and rested his head on his pack, mentally preparing himself for whatever the kid was going to ask him to do for him.

**xXxXx**

It was evening in the temple complex, and Aang was telling Sokka and Katara all about his trip yesterday. He told them about the crazy herbalist, the tattooed archers, Zhao capturing him, and his rescuer the blue and white oni mask. He wanted it to be a surprise and was careful to keep any giveaways to Lee down to a minimum. All the while, Sokka found himself booing the idea of having to suck on the frogs, and rooting for the guy in the mask who they were supposed to meet tomorrow. Katara had look of worry throughout the entire story, especially the part where Aang and this guy were fighting their way out of the fortress, and the part where he used Aang as a hostage. That was also the only time that Sokka booed the guy.

"How could he do that to you after rescuing you?" demanded Katara.

"He told me to play along, and it worked." said Aang quickly defending Lee's position, "But the only really scary part was the arrow that went to his mask."

"You mean… he's dead?" asked Sokka, "Those archers sound scary."

"Well, no he didn't die," said Aang, "His mask seemed pretty heavy and it saved him, and well I got a look at him. I carried him and we got away, and when he woke up, he said he owed me."

"So, what are you going to make him do?" asked Sokka.

"Well…" Aang trailed off, "I kind of want him to join us."

Sokka and Katara's faces both fell.

"After he used you as a hostage?" shrieked Katara.

"Aang! He could be a psycho!" shouted Sokka.

Aang raised his hands in a peaceful gesture.

"Guys, I'm still here, aren't I?" said Aang, "Besides, we can trust him, we all know him."

Aang thought now was the best time to reveal to them who he wanted to join.

"So, who is he?" asked Katara.

"Alright brace yourselves," said Aang before breaking into a smile, "It's Lee."

Katara's face instantly dropped, but Sokka's went from surprise to thoughtfulness. Aang was surprised. He thought they would be happy, but instead things were quiet for a moment before Katara burst out with emotion in her voice.

"That jer-"

"Great idea Aang," interrupted Sokka.

"Thank you Sokka-WHAT?" she cried out, "You're supporting this?"

"Well… I actually think he'd be a great addition," said Sokka.

"NO! He wouldn't be a great addition! He's a jerk, and he picks fights with people. He… he'd ruin the whole group dynamic!"

"Are you sure it's us he'd mess with, or just you?" asked Sokka cunningly.

Katara was fairly livid at this point. Of all the people Aang could possibly ask to join the group, it had to be Lee.

"Ok fine, I don't get along with him. Would you if he called you stupid?"

"No, I probably wouldn't, but-"

"So you see my point," said Katara before facing Aang, "What would possess you to want him to join our group?"

"I had a vision," said Aang.

This ended Katara's anger, and actually piqued Sokka's usually skeptical interest.

"I dreamt I was facing this huge Fire Nation army. There were so many of them and everything seemed hopeless. But then you, and Sokka, and Lee were there to help me. The more I thought about it as being a vision, the more it felt right. I think it's my Avatar senses telling me that the run-ins with Lee are all meant to be for a reason. I think we keep running into him because he's supposed to be part of out group. That's what I believe anyway," explained Aang.

Sokka scratched his chin, and Katara looked away with a conflicted expression.

"Well," began Sokka, "I'm not sure about the whole spirit mumbo jumbo, but I still think Lee would make a great addition. I mean if what you told me about these archers is true, then it's safe to assume the Fire Nation is taking us more seriously. We're going to need all the help we can get if we're going to survive."

Aang smiled in approval, and looked to Katara.

"Are you sure this was a vision Aang? I mean you could have just been thinking about the rescue, and put Lee in a dream to make you feel better," she tried in a lame attempt to get Aang to reconsider.

The thought of Lee in the group…

"I'm sure it was a vision. That's what I believe with all my heart," said Aang, "Besides, I kind of already told him to meet with us tomorrow."

"Well, I suppose if the spirits deem it fit… I mean we can't really go against their wishes can we?" said Katara, "Wait, does he know? About what you're planning for him I mean."

"…Not yet," said Aang sheepishly.

**Author's Notes:**

**Zuko is wearing his stealth uniform all the time. He just wears the Earth Kingdom robe over it.**

**This was originally supposed to be the first chapter of the story, but I felt it was a little random for Aang to suddenly ask a total stranger to join the group without a good reason.**

**The third chapter was supposed to take place during "The Storm," but I felt that the big reveals of Zuko's past would have a greater impact in the later chapters of the story.**

**Remember, Aang and the other's don't know who Zuko really is, so I always refer to Zuko as Lee whenever the story is in one of the gAang's perspective.**

**Thank you for reading, and please review.**

**P.S. Don't forget to tell me if the story should be long, or broken down in to separate stories/parts.**


	4. Zuko

**Writing this chapter ate me alive.**

**I would like to thank you guys for the reviews. Your reviews in the last chapter were really insightful, and well you'll have to read the chapter. Think of it as a gift for your support in this crazy project of mine (I hope you guys like it). **

**Speaking of the last chapter, as I was writing this one, I realized I poked holes in my own plot in chapter 3. In the part where Aang asks about "Lee's" costume, I kind of screwed up with Zuko's response. After all, if Zuko was currently notorious, the old man in chapter 2 would have recognized him right away. For that reason I revised some of the dialogue in that part of the chapter. So if you've been following this story, then I recommend going over it again before you read this one. If you're a new reader, then you don't have to worry about a thing.**

**To my current readers, I apologize for the inconvenience. **

**Now, I will keep the vote to make this story long, or broken down into parts up for this one chapter, because I'm so nice. This is your last chance to tell me, so don't forget to mention it in the review. So far, there are two votes for a long story, one for a sectioned story, and one saying that it's up to me.**

**Alright, that's enough ranting on my part. I present the next chapter of **_**Homeless Dragon**_**.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender. It is the property of its creators and Nickelodeon. **

Chapter 4: Zuko

Zuko woke up from his sleep, and looked eastward and saw the sun rising. He groaned, and laid back face down on the pile of leaves that he had made into a bed. After a few seconds, his eyes shot open.

"IT'S DAWN?" he cried out as he pushed himself onto his knees.

The rest of his body couldn't catch up to his sudden awakening and his legs gave way to the weight of his body. He lost balance, and landed on his back on the moist ground. Zuko pushed himself off from his awkward position, and felt control of his body return to him slowly. He got back onto his feet and dusted himself off.

"Did I really sleep that long?" he asked himself.

He had slept through the day when he got back from his stealth mission, and all through the night. It was amazing to Zuko, since the last time he had slept for that long was when he was a child, and he wondered why it happened now. He wondered if it was because of the stealth mission. Something like that did require a lot of energy to pull off, both physical and mental. However, the more he thought about it, he realized it was something he didn't have that night.

Nightmares.

It was odd for Zuko to sleep so soundly and for so long. Nightmares were the main reason for that. He usually had one once a night, and they were short because of it. He didn't think about it for long though since he knew today was going to be a very busy day. With an appointment with the Avatar, as well as some negotiating to do with an herbalist ahead of him, he quickly stretched the last bit of tiredness from his body.

Feeling good from his rarely comfortable night of sleep, Zuko gathered his things together, and when he was ready, went off to the mountain.

**xXxXx**

"Welcome Lee," smiled Katara.

It didn't sound right, and Katara cleared her throat.

"Thank you for joining us Lee," she repeated with a similar smile.

That also didn't sound right.

"Ugh, why is this so hard," she muttered to herself.

"Probably because you're forcing it out," said Aang from behind.

Katara jumped at the sound of Aang's voice, and turned around to see him and Sokka trying not to giggle.

"H-How long were you there?" she demanded.

"Long enough to know you'd make a pretty bad actress," said Sokka, "Why are you so concerned with trying to welcome Lee. I mean, not that that's a bad thing, but you don't really like the guy."

Katara sighed.

"Look, it's not that I don't like him, it's just that… you guys are lucky. Your experiences with Lee were good. All I got from him was a lecture on how stupid my actions were, and that ungrateful attitude from rescuing him."

"Well, he apologized for that," chimed in Aang.

"I know," said Katara before sighing, "And I know I was a bit of a pain when it came to Lee last night, but if you guys are adamant about this, then well… I suppose I can put aside my feelings and give him a chance."

Sokka smiled at his sister's change of heart.

"Thanks Katara," he said warmly with a hand on her shoulder, "I'm glad to see you're coming around. Now finish getting ready, we're going to be late."

As Sokka walked away, her thoughts settled on what was to happen in the next couple of hours.

A part of her didn't believe it was going to be as easy as Aang and Sokka seemed to think. True, Lee did owe them, but he always gave the impression that he was very reluctant to even be near them. However, she chose not to voice that opinion, seeing as how she was seen as the one who didn't want him around. After all, their first meeting and interaction were not pleasant in any way.

However, she couldn't deny his strength, or the fact that he was a very mature and level-headed person, who was also very honorable, and that he thought of others more than himself. Those were qualities that she admired, and she herself tried to live by. Besides, Katara had vowed to help Aang on his journey since they left the South Pole. That was the most important thing she could do for him, and if that meant Lee was to be in their group, then so be it.

'Maybe we got off on the wrong foot,' she thought to herself, 'I'm sure once I get to know him the way Sokka and Aang did, I'll see he's not so bad. I hope. And hopefully, it will be the same for him with me.'

She tried to think optimistic thoughts before she gathered her things, and caught up with Aang and Sokka on Appa's saddle. When Aang confirmed everyone and everything was present and accounted for, he flicked Appa's reigns and flew off to the herbalist. Aang tried to get Appa to a high enough altitude to avoid detection, and the leftover clouds from yesterday gave ample cover for the group.

The feeling in the saddle was that of anticipation. Aang was excited that he would get a new friend. He loved making friends, and having someone as cool as Lee seemed awesome in Aang's mind. Sokka was happy that there would finally be another warrior in the group. He loved his sister and friend, but was tired of having to be the odd one out, being surrounded by two benders that tended to show him up all the time when it came down to fights. Katara was determined to start over with Lee. She had been and was still preparing herself. She was determined to be mature about this new development in the group dynamic.

All that was left now was to ask him to join.

**xXxXx**

'…They're late,' thought Zuko.

He was lying down on the grass in the shade of a tree waiting for Aang and his friends to arrive for nearly half an hour past noon. He had arrived at the designated location an hour earlier and began to negotiate for his supplies. however, he became very uncomfortable when the crazy old herbalist tried to flirt with him. He got what he needed from her, but when she made a comment about how young men preferred older women, a wave of disturbing images flooded his mind. He promptly paid the old woman and left the building.

'Come back again hot stuff!' she cackled as he left.

Zuko could still hear it clearly, and felt like he was going throw up. The only thing he could do to stop thinking about that was to think about what Aang could possibly want him to do. He had all sort of possible offers in his head. Some of it was mundane, such as giving directions, and others were pretty far out, including things like wooing advice…

'He might not ask for that,' he thought.

Suddenly he heard Appa's roar, and sat upright looking up. The bison appeared larger as it landed, and Zuko got on his feet. He quickly tried to make himself presentable by arranging his hair, dusting himself off, and tugging at his robe.

Appa landed on the ground, and his three passengers helped each other to the ground. Aang walked up to Zuko followed by Sokka and Katara. Aang was smiling, Sokka crossed his arms with a smirk, and Katara stared at him with intent. Zuko approached them, and gave a polite bow to Aang.

"Avatar Aang, how may I be of service," he said.

"Please you don't have to do that," said Aang rubbing his neck in embarrassment.

Zuko stood up straight and looked to Aang's companions.

"Sokka," he said with a bow, who reciprocated, and he turned to girl he knew all too well, "Katara."

He was equally polite, saying her name clearly and giving her a polite bow, and was surprised that when he looked up. Katara was grinning and politely nodded, and Zuko wondered what brought the change before he remembered there was business to attend to. He returned his attention to the young airbender.

"Now then, you wanted to meet me here? I'm sure you have something for me to do in mind."

Aang looked to the others. They nodded to him, and Aang stepped forward.

"As a matter of fact Lee, the others and I talked it over. We know what you can do for all of us."

"All of you?" asked Zuko curiously.

He said he'd help Aang, not the group. However, his curiosity to what they were planning for him kept him from speaking out, and he listened to what the kid had to say.

"Well, you know how we always run into each other?" asked Aang.

"…Yes?" said Zuko cautiously.

"And you know how you always help us out?" added Aang.

Zuko remained silent and wary, but nodded.

"Well, we were thinking… since that always seems to be the case, would you-"

"No," said Zuko impulsively.

The three younger kids gawked. Aang and Sokka were surprised by Lee's answer. Katara wasn't too shocked, but she didn't expect the resistance to come this soon. She wanted to tell him off for interrupting Aang like that, but she reminded herself that she was going to start over with Lee and kept silent.

"But… but I didn't even finish!" protested Aang, voicing Katara's concerns.

"You didn't need to," said Zuko, "I could tell where you were going with it, and the answer is no. I will not join your group."

"And why not?" asked Katara sternly.

"Oh, well let's see," began Zuko firmly, pretending to contemplate, "There was that little incident with the pirates and bandits. What else, oh right, the 'Freedom Fighters,' that was a pleasant experience. And we can't forget the wonderful night in the Fire Nation fortress with the garrison and the Yu Yan archers. I mean you guys are just a bundle of fun," his sarcastically cheery voice ended when his face became stern again, "Too much fun. Besides I don't do groups."

"Please Lee, just hear us out," cut in Sokka.

Zuko crossed his arms.

"…Alright, talk. Give me one good reason why I should travel with you, _**aside**_ from the fact that I owe you," said Zuko.

"Well…," began Aang thinking he should be as honest with him as possible, "I saw you in this dream; well actually it was a vision. You, me, Sokka, and Katara were facing this massive Fire Nation army. There were hundreds, maybe thousands, and they were all 'RAHH!' and 'GRRR!' and they just wanted to tear us to shreds. But we all fought together and won… I think."

Zuko looked horrified. He had worked so hard to play dead for three years, and now Aang wanted him to face an entire army that he didn't even know if they were able to beat. On top of that, his reason for wanting him to join was just so ridiculous; a vision? It wasn't that Zuko didn't believe in visions, but he needed more than that to be swayed.

"You mean to tell me that you want me to join because you had a vision about me?" asked Zuko.

Aang smiled optimistically, and nodded his head.

"No! I mean… that's just so… I am not going to join just because you had some kind of vision," said Zuko.

"Please Lee," began Katara, "Aang gets visions from the spirit world from time to time, and they're never wrong. Certain people are in it for a reason, and if you were in there fighting along side us, then that means you're meant to be in our group."

"And if you don't believe the visions, then let's look at common sense," began Sokka, "When you left us the first time we met, you did say helping people is what you do right? Well, if you help us, you'll be helping a lot of other people in the process. And look at it this way. Since we seem to run into you lately, and since you seem to help us out anyway, you might as well join."

Zuko was about to protest, but closed it when he couldn't find the words. Sokka and Katara got him there. From what he remembered in an incredibly brief lesson with the Fire Sages a long time ago, and bed time stories from his mother, the Avatar was supposed to be one with the spirits. So as far as the accuracy of visions went, Aang's could be trusted. And Zuko did profess that he helped people who needed it, and from all the past experiences with Aang and the others, they really needed it. And finally, he did seem to help the Avatar quite a bit. He could just join, and save himself the trouble of having to run into and leave their group over and over again.

Still, what they wanted was too much for him to give. Who were they to think they could waltz into his semi-peaceful life, and demand that he throw himself back into the jaws of the Fire Nation war machine? His features cringed with anger.

"Is this how you normally try to recruit new people? Get a vision of them, and then just expect them to go with it?" he asked in an exasperated voice.

"Well, no. You're the first," said Aang.

Zuko stared at them, but sighed and ran his head through his hair, and faced them.

"Look... I get that you need help. But, you have to understand, having me around is not a good idea," said Zuko.

"Why not?" asked Aang.

"It just isn't ok," said Zuko avoiding the topic, "Now, unless you have something else you'd want me to do for you, I have to go."

"You can't just double back on your offer," protested Sokka.

"I will help you with something, but asking me to join your little gang is too much. I don't do groups, and I don't play babysitter either," said Zuko.

Zuko ignored an indignant Sokka, and his ranting that he didn't need a babysitter. Zuko turned around to get his things, but as he was about to go for his pack, Aang grabbed onto his ankles. Zuko quickly turned around as Aang latched onto it pentapus.

"What are you doing?" Zuko demanded angrily as he tried to wiggle Aang off his ankle without hurting him on accident.

"PLEEEASE!" pleaded Aang.

"You're being ridiculous Aang! Let go!" said Zuko shaking his ankle.

"Not until you agree!" shouted Aang.

"You're the Avatar! Quit acting like a child!" he shot back.

"But I'm still a kid!"

"Let go!"

"No!"

"Well then prepare to be stuck there for a long time…" Zuko just thought about what he said, and cringed, "Actually, on second thought, never mind, and let go!"

Katara looked at the sight. Aang looked like a lost koala-sheep, and while that may have worked before on other people, Lee obviously wasn't going to fall for it. She quickly tried to think of an alternative way to get things in their favor. She remembered something their prospective group member said, and an idea came to her and she approached the two.

"Lee."

He looked up to see Katara stepping in.

"I think I understand. We lead a pretty dangerous life. Far more dangerous than what you're probably used to. Aang's never wrong about his visions, and we really want you because we believe it's best for our group. However, we shouldn't have forgotten to take your feelings into account. So, how about this: you can say no if you want, but will you at least think about it, and I mean really think about it, before you make a final decision?" she asked calmly.

Everyone stared in awe at her sudden speech. Zuko thought about it. It wasn't an unreasonable request, and it wasn't like he had any other appointments coming up later. He looked at Aang and back to Katara.

"It may take a while," he warned.

"We'll wait for as long as you need," said Katara.

He was quiet for a moment, before sighing in defeat.

"…Give me an hour."

"Really?" asked Aang eagerly.

"Yes… now let go so I can go somewhere quiet," said Zuko.

Aang happily let go, and watched Lee walk behind the herbalist's house. He turned his attention to Katara, and gave her a bear-hug.

"Thanks Katara, you're a life-saver," said Aang he said in a tight embrace.

"You like making speeches, don't you," said Sokka recalling the time they met Haru.

"No, I just thought that if I tried to see things through his perspective, I could get through to him. I mean, to him this probably sounded like some kind of ultimatum, but if we gave him the option to choose then maybe he'd consider it. I'm sure after a little time, and thinking, he'll come around," said Katara optimistically as she gently pried Aang off.

Hopefully, by giving Lee the option to say yes or no, the outcome would be different.

**xXxXx**

"I just had to open my big mouth," muttered Zuko as he remembered telling Aang he still owed him.

Zuko sat on slope of the hill behind the herbalist's house. He was honestly not expecting being part of the Avatar's group as his way of paying his debt to Aang. At most he expected to look for someone or something for the kid, but joining a group… he couldn't fathom that.

Oddly enough, despite the unpleasant life- threatening experiences that he had associated with Aang and his friends, it was a very tempting offer.

Even though his mind said no, there was a part of him that wanted to accept without a second thought. Aang and his friends weren't so bad. Sure they acted like fools, but they were good people to be with. He felt oddly at peace with them around, and soon familiar desires welled up in his heart. The desire for friendship, acceptance, and the end of very lonely days were starting to seduce him. He was tired of ghosts being the only company in his life.

However, for him, there were not only benefits with joining a group, but there were also problems.

He began to make a list in his head with all the reasons why he couldn't join the group. One, he was a firebender, which wasn't a good thing to be if you intended to join a group that fought firebenders. Two, he was not a group person; he had served in the army, but that could hardly be called a "group," as Aang and his companions defined it to be. Three, he was not popular in Fire Nation controlled lands both as himself and the Blue Spirit. Everyone would be after him and the group from soldiers to bounty hunters should his existence be known. And finally… he was the Fire Lord's son. How could he possibly join such a group with that underlying fact?

'…Because it would be a major advantage,' he realized in his head.

Yes, he was a firebender. The Avatar could use a teacher when he was ready, and he could teach the others how to fight firebenders effectively. He served in the army, and knew how it worked better than they did, of that he was sure of. He was a criminal, thus knew how to best elude captivity from soldiers and how not to be noticed. And he was indeed the Fire Lord's son. Who better to turn to for help in defeating his father?

He had two lists in his mind, and two choices to make with it. But as always, just as one obstacle was cleared, another sprang up.

'They would have to know,' he thought.

If he chose to join, he'd have to tell his new companions the truth about himself, the important parts at least. But if he didn't join, he'd have to give an explanation. Either way, it was bound to come up.

One way or another, they'd have to know the truth. He owed them that much.

**xXxXx**

Close to an hour had passed, and Aang was lying on the grass. Sokka was sharpening his boomerang, and Katara was going over the other forms in the waterbending scroll she took from the pirates. They were all in their little worlds, but Lee's approach drew them back to reality. He had a conflicted expression on his face, but that didn't seem to matter to Aang as much as Lee's answer.

"So? Did you decide?" asked Aang eagerly.

"Nothing as of yet. You'll have to decide if you want me around first," said Zuko.

The group began to wonder what he was talking about, and Katara was the first one to speak.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

Zuko took a deep breath.

"I'm not who you think I am, and it kind of worries me that you would want me to join your group when none of you really know anything about me. I mean, I know you want to be friends and all, but that's kind of dangerous."

The gang was silent. Lee was right. They knew absolutely nothing about him other than the fact that he was a skilled fighter, and that he helped out a few times. They all wondered if Sokka's comment, especially Sokka, was accurate. What if he was a psycho?

"Well, what kind of person are you?" asked Aang.

Zuko paused a moment before speaking.

"Well, to be honest, I'm not popular in the Fire Nation held territories. In fact, I'm quite hated. The only reason I haven't been arrested or spotted lately is because my identifying characteristics are covered. Having me around would be-," Zuko stopped when he looked to the group, and was baffled that they didn't look as worried as he had expected.

"Why aren't you worried?" he asked.

"That's not a problem. We've met other people who were considered criminals by the Fire Nation, and most of them were ok," said Aang.

"Yeah, any enemy of the Fire Nation is a friend of ours," said Sokka, "Except for people like Jet."

"Especially Jet," muttered Katara bitterly.

"No, you don't understand," said Zuko quickly, "I'm probably unlike any of the Fire Nation's enemies that you've met."

"What do you mean?" asked Aang.

Zuko took a deep breath.

"It's better if I showed you all," said Zuko, "We've obviously become more than casual acquaintances, and you all deserve to know what kind of person you were asking to join your group."

He took a few steps back, and turned the facing nothing but open air. Once he did this there was no going back.

He dropped into a stance, took a deep breath, and shot a brilliant red flame into the air. Zuko maintained the flame for a few good seconds, to get it in the minds of the three, before getting out of the stance. He took a breath, and faced the others. Their expressions were exactly what he had expected: shock, and confusion.

Aang and the others could not believe it. Lee was Fire Nation, and a firebender. All this time, they ran into, and were helped by a firebender. Aang was shocked. His hopes for a new friend looked as though they burned away like the very air that Lee had shot, and the excitement that filled his heart began to waver. Sokka couldn't decide whether to draw out his club and beat the guy, or if he should close his mouth as it dropped. He felt anger as he swore he could hear Jet's laughter at the ironic situation in the back of his mind. Katara looked horrified and confused, unable to process what she had seen.

"You… you're a firebender… you lied to us?" she asked silently with a pained voice.

"…Yes," said Zuko.

He didn't look away from them as he confessed the truth.

"But, I don't understand? How could you be a criminal in the eyes of the Fire Nation if you are Fire Nation?" protested Aang.

"Oh, and I suppose all criminals in Fire Nation prisons are from the Earth Kingdom? Not everyone in the empire is a warmonger. There are those among my people who are opposed to the war and the current regime."

They suddenly remembered Shyu and how he was opposed to the ways of the Fire Lord. However, that was different, he was a fire sage; a true fire sage who was sworn into the service of the Avatar. Lee was… they didn't know what he was. Only that he was a firebender who was also a criminal.

Fear crept into their hearts, and they all took a step back.

Zuko stiffened, but understood their reactions.

"It's complicated, ok," continued Zuko, "Look, I'm sorry you all had to find out this way, but I have to come clean. I'm from the Fire Nation, and I figure you guys should know that before you ask me to join."

"What makes you think we would _ever_ let you join now?" said Sokka falling back on prejudice, "You could be a spy, or an assassin! Was this whole thing a mission? Were you ordered to 'run into' us, and 'help' us out, and when we trusted you, you turn us in?"

"NO! It wasn't," he protested in defense of his honor, "And besides if was really a spy or an assassin, do you honestly think I would have warned you about my abilities, let alone show them?"

"That could be part of the act," countered Sokka, "You get us to think you're a 'good' firebender, and then lure us into your trap."

Under normal circumstances, the group would have seen Sokka's ranting as him being paranoid. But now that they had seen first-hand proof, it became a very appealing argument. Could all this have been a mission of Lee?

Zuko looked at the expressions of Aang and Katara. He saw their doubts in their eyes, and though he was disheartened, he expected it. Why would they bother to believe or trust him now? It was his word against Sokka's.

Katara stepped forward, and from the way she walked towards him, he expected her to slap him and say what a vile, despicable person he was.

"Why? Why didn't you think you could tell us sooner?" she demanded.

He was surprised, and relieved, to be wrong but didn't show it.

"How was I supposed to tell you? 'Hey, guess what? I'm from the Fire Nation, nice to meet you?" he asked, "Whether I told you earlier or not, it wouldn't have made a difference. You're reactions prove that."

They were all quiet. Zuko knew any further attempt at talking would get out of hand, and he decided it was best to end this now and move on.

"Look… I know this probably won't mean anything to you, but I am sorry. I shouldn't have kept the charade up; I should have told you as sooner," he apologized sadly, "I won't ask any of you to excuse my actions. They were dishonorable, and foolish on my part."

Aang was just as confused and distraught as Katara, and Sokka was just mad. They all had their hopes up about today. But none of them were prepared for this, and they all felt confused about Lee now. However, Aang's confusion was due to the conflicting views in his heart. Part of him started to believe in Sokka's conspiracy; that this was all a ploy by Lee. But there was still that part that was convinced that his dream came from the spirits.

"_There are those among my people who are opposed to the war and the current regime."_

Were there more people like Shyu in the Fire Nation? Was Lee one of them?

He couldn't decide.

He was too scared and uncertain to decide.

"Lee… I… I think you should go…" said Aang in a sorrowful voice, "I mean… this is… a lot to take in."

Zuko didn't speak. He merely nodded, bowed, got his things, and walked past Aang and the others.

He neared the steps to the road when he stopped. He couldn't believe he forgot. Everyone was so worked up about him being a firebender that it became unimportant. He couldn't leave yet. Not like this.

"Aang, Katara, Sokka…"

He faced them, and saw the three turn around just as they headed for Appa.

"I just remembered something else. Something just as important as me being a firebender," he replied to the three.

Aang and the others looked at him dumbfounded.

"What do you mean?" asked Aang.

"You all got so worked up, and mad at me that I almost forgot giving you my real name as well," he answered.

Aang's eyes widened, Katara gasped a bit, and Sokka raised an eyebrow.

"Your real name?" asked Sokka.

"Yes," he answered, "After everything that's happened between us, you all deserve to know this."

The three looked at one another. They didn't have to say anything because they knew they wanted to know.

"So who are you really?" asked Katara.

He was quiet for a while, and then his mouth opened.

"…Zuko," he answered, "My real name is Zuko."

"…Zuko" repeated Aang, "…Thanks, I guess… for telling us…"

Zuko could tell the kid was still disheartened about what happened, and decided to go above and beyond the call of duty. After all, he wouldn't feel comfortable if the kid hated him forever.

"Don't doubt yourself."

"Huh?" began Aang.

"Your vision," Zuko specified, "Don't throw it out the window just yet because of a little mishap. If it truly was a vision, then I'm sure we're bound to run into each other again. Maybe it just needs a little time."

"How so?" asked Katara.

"…I'm still thinking about the offer," he answered.

Their eyes widened.

"I know, I know," he added quickly, "I'm not expecting you guys to want me now, but… I would like to start over. From now on, no more lies, ok?"

Aang looked at… Zuko. He stared right at his good eye, searching for any kind of falsehood, before looking to the others. Katara and Sokka still had reservations about Zuko, Aang could see it in their eyes, but when he faced Zuko again, he took a moment of silence before he nodded in approval.

Zuko smirked the way he did when Aang saw him in his dream, and turned around after giving a final, polite bow. As he left them according to Aang's wishes, Sokka walked up to him

"You're giving him another chance? Just like that? Why?" he demanded.

"My instincts told me to," he replied.

**Yay! Zuko told them the truth, and please don't hate me for what happened. There is a method to my madness… I think. My only concern is whether or not this was rushed or confusing, please tell me in your reviews.**

**Anyway, original content for once! I'm happy I didn't have to risk scratching my Avatar DVDs while writing this. The chapter is a little shorter than the others I know, but it's meant to be. I hope this met up with the standards you expect from this story.**

**Author's Notes:**

**Originally, Zuko was going to join with some "one week trial" deal, but the more I thought about and the more I read the reviews, I realized that it was a little strange. Zuko would never willingly put himself on the fence; he would prefer to say yes or no, and move on.**

**The chapter was influenced by the reviews I got for Ch. 3. I was on the fence on what Zuko would decide, and the reviews really helped in my decision making. Thanks everyone!**

**Aang grabbing onto Zuko's leg is not out of character. He is still very childish at this point of the show.**

**Sokka's reaction may seem a little over the top, but it isn't. In the show, Sokka was prejudicial toward anyone from the Fire Nation until he met Piandao.**

**Thank you for reading and please review.**


	5. Rekindling

**Midterms sucked, and so did the paper I had to write afterwards.**

**Anyway… **

**MUY IMPORTANTE! PLEASE READ THIS PART OF THE AUTHORS NOTES!**

**Alright, the votes are in (assuming I counted correctly):**

**2: long story**

**1: sectioned story**

**2: It's my decision**

**So, I have decided to make this a long story. It shall be epic! Additional information for the story's future will be in the Author's Notes at the end of the chapter. I recommend reading that part of the end notes at the very least.**

**Okay, there's the important part, and now that that's out of the way, let me take the time to thank my most frequent reviewers:**

**AnnaAza: Thanks for the support. I like your reviews, and also your stories.**

**Armor of the Gods: I'm really glad you're hooked. It's nice to know I write addicting stories.**

**ArrayePL: I like your reviews, especially when they mention how I hide Zuko's past. It's kind of fun trying to figure out how you'll react to the chapters.**

**Charizardag: I remember you from my previous Avatar stories two years ago. Thanks for supporting this one too. It's very encouraging to have a face from the past.**

**Countdown: Thanks for that review in Ch. 2. It really helped the story get to where it is now. **

**Lady Dragon: Your reviews are insane! I absolutely love them; there's so much detail, since you really pick the story apart. BTW, thanks for catching the mistakes I made in the last chapter. Also, your last review kind of scared me… It's not bad or anything, but… you'll have to read the notes at the end. And just to tell you I was working on the story when I got it.**

**Northern Lights 25: Thanks for being a consistent reader. **

**Sokkantylee: Your reviews are always a joy to read. They keep me entertained, and also give me ideas.**

**And for everyone else who reads, thank you so, so very much, I greatly appreciate it.**

**Whew, I was scared about chapter four. I thought I rushed it, and a part of me was worried how you would all react to Zuko revealing himself at that point in the story. However, you all seemed to like it, and that is really heartwarming to know.**

**Now then, some of you guys were wondering why I made Zuko not include the fact that his father was the Fire Lord. To be honest, I didn't want to include it, and other than that, I don't know. But now that some of you had those concerns, I thought 'Hey… that could work. I know how I could still make this work with his whole line about there being no more lies between him and the group.' Some of you are probably wondering what could be going through my head. **

…

**Of course I'm not going to say it. It would ruin the surprise (Low five with Toph).**

**I'm kind of gambling with this chapter, and I'm curious to see where it goes. Now then, enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender. It is the property of its creators and Nickelodeon.**

Chapter 5: Rekindling

Zhao stared at the place in the holding area where he held the Avatar, and he was furious.

One week ago, he was poised to receive the commendation of a lifetime. One week ago, he was poised to be appointed to the highest position underneath the Fire Lord himself. One week ago, he was poised to deliver the Avatar, that pathetic child, to his liege. And one week ago, all of it slipped from his grasp, and to make matters worse it was the ever elusive Blue Spirit, one of the empire's most notorious criminals, who was responsible for his loss. Zhao refused to let any of this leak out, and be the laughing stock of the military and the court. But most of all, he feared what the Fire Lord would do to him if word did get out of this blunder.

_Knock! Knock!_

"What!" he shouted.

"Sir, th-the records you wanted have arrived," said the fearful voice of a soldier through the door, "They're in the briefing room."

"Finally! Something good for once," said Zhao before storming off to that very location.

He had spoken too soon

He opened his door to the briefing room, and instantly became frustrated when he saw that there was crates worth of documents to go through. Since he became Admiral, he had taken charge of tracking the Avatar, and had ordered all branches of the military and the colonial government to provide him with all the records and sightings, past and recent in an effort to map out any possible routes that the Avatar was taking. And there, evidently, was a lot of records. The Admiral knew that he would lose a lot of time going through it all. However, he was not willing to risk wasting more time hunting blindly. Zhao quickly barked at his men to get to work, as he himself went through the first crate.

**xXxXx**

In a lightly hazy morning, Zuko walked through the woods by the Northwest coast of the Earth Kingdom continent, a region that was still holding onto it's independence from the Fire Nation. The land was known for its nearly limitless pine forests, and its natural harbors. Its breathtaking scenery and mild climate would enthrall anyone, and normally, he would enjoy the scenery of the area while he could when he went walking. However, he didn't feel comfortable ever since he left the Avatar's group.

'They probably still hate me,' he thought.

He wasn't referring to Aang though; the kid would probably forgive him the first chance he got. It was the Water Tribe siblings that he was thinking about. He remembered how Sokka yelled at him and accused him, and he could see he had hurt Katara just by looking at her eyes. He sighed at the thought.

'Why am I beating myself up over this?' he asked himself, 'I did what I had to do. I had to show them I was a firebender.'

_What about your father?_

Zuko clenched his hands into fists as he thought about _that_ man.

He groaned in exasperation, and sat down by the road and pulled out a map. He found his position, traced it along to his destination, an abbey, and estimated how long it would take for him to get there. He could get there by midmorning if he pushed himself, but he felt tired and decided to take a break. He pulled out a canteen and some jerky and began to eat.

As he ate, he heard running, and stopped. Zuko looked down the road, in the direction he heard the noise coming from. He saw a young woman wearing white robes running frantically.

"Please sir, help me!" she cried out as she saw him.

Zuko immediately got onto his feet, and the girl nearly ran into him she stopped and pulled herself toward him. He was taken aback by her actions, but after a moment he understood that it was for seeking protection. He gently pried her off of him, and got a good look at her. She was around his age, wore white robes, had long hair that was covered in a white veil, and prayer beads around her neck. He realized that she was an initiate from the abbey he was looking for.

"What's wrong?" he asked trying his best to sound comforting.

"The Fire Nation," she uttered.

"You there!"

Both Zuko and the initiate looked up to see a large group of men in Earth Kingdom uniforms approach them.

Zuko's eye widened at the sight as he realized they weren't really Earth Kingdom soldiers, but Fire Nation in disguise. They strode confidently and gracefully in their formation, which was supposed to emulate the way dragons flew as opposed to Earth Kingdom soldiers, who waltzed as gracefully as angry badger-moles. Zuko instantly recognized them as infiltrators, and guided the girl behind him with his knees bent and his drawing arm at the ready.

"Is there a problem, sir?" Zuko asked deciding play along with their game for now.

"That woman there is aiding the Fire Nation army," sneered the lead officer, possibly a sergeant based on Zuko's observation.

"I am not! And if anyone is Fire Nation, it's you!" she retorted.

"How dare you accuse me of such a thing?" threatened the sergeant in a poorly convincing voice.

Zuko rolled his eyes; it was way too obvious to him.

"Stop the charade, you're not fooling me; you are Fire Nation. I can tell by the way you march, talk, and by the way your uniform is worn," he said as he noticed that the uniform wasn't properly assembled.

The initiate looked up at him in wonder. 'How would he know?' she thought. The sergeant was also stunned, as were his men, but the surprise did not last long as the man sneered.

"You're pretty sharp. That's too bad," he continued arrogantly, "If only you played along, then you wouldn't have to die; men!"

Most of the soldiers took up firebending stances, and others quickly drew out their weapons, and both groups quickly surrounded the two. Zuko drew his swords out and separated them in a flash before crouching into a stance.

'Most of them are firebenders, including the sergeant; also, there's a young woman to protect… these are not good odds,' he thought as he analyzed the situation.

He looked at the firebenders, and their leader. He knew from looking at their stances and calm expressions that they would be the hardest to fight against, and that he would have to bend against them if he wanted to have any real chance. That was also a problem because he hadn't bent fire for combat purposes in a while because of the demands of his cover. He looked around for any weaknesses in the group formation. There was nothing until he saw the two swordsmen, and how cocky and arrogant they were.

He smirked, knowing where to go first.

"When I tell you, run," he whispered to the initiate.

"What-"

She didn't get a chance to finish, as Zuko's swords ignited in a bright, intimidating flame. Everyone doubled back, and Zuko seized on the expected reaction. He sidestepped the initiate, and shot the flames from his swords in a wave of fire at the two frightened soldiers. The explosions from the blast sent them flying onto their backs, and Zuko turned to the now frightened initiate.

"RUN!" he ordered.

The young woman wasted no time doing as he commanded. When she was out of Zuko's sight, he returned his attention to the soldiers.

"Well this is interesting," began the sergeant as his grin turned malicious once he recomposed himself, "I think we found ourselves a deserter, boys."

Zuko simply took a deep breath, reignited his swords, and charged at the firebenders.

…

The young initiate ran as fast as she could, still processing the fact that her savior was a firebender. She turned around to see flashes, and jets of fire shooting into the air.

As she did, she ran into something hard, and fell flat on her back. She looked up and her jaw dropped.

**xXxXx**

Zuko was having a difficult time fighting back. Taking on multiple firebenders and soldiers with only his swords and rusty bending was becoming tiring. Sensing his disadvantage, Zuko decided it would be better to fight in the woods.

He sheathed his weapon and dashed in, and sure enough, the enemies followed. Zuko went deeper and deeper into the dense seaside forest, and looked behind him briefly. As he had hoped, the trees had broken the pursuit formation that the soldiers were using, dividing the effectiveness of their numbers, and putting them in situations where they would be forced to fight him one at a time. Now believing that things were in his favor, Zuko drew his swords and turned to face them, but he would not really get the chance.

Something hit the side of one of the firebender's helmet, incapacitating him instantly. The soldiers gawked, and when war cries blared into the still quiet, many soldiers flinched. A large group of warriors clad in blue charged downhill. The blue clothes, and wild hair, meant one thing: these were Water Tribe warriors, and the firebenders were in no way prepared to fight them.

A little startled himself, he jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Zuko took a step away, and got into a stance to see two middle-aged men, one with a club and another with a whale tooth sword. One man, who stood behind the other, had long black hair tied in the wolf tail style, a black goatee, and narrow eyes, and the other one, who had his hand up in gesture of calming, had brown hair in the same style but with two beaded locks along the side as well as the same goatee.

"Hold it there, we mean you no harm," said the black haired man before turning to the man in front of him, "You shouldn't have startled him Hakoda."

Hakoda simply chuckled, and tried to calm the boy with a gesture of his hand.

"Sorry, for scaring you like that," he told Zuko, "You're a very brave man taking them on, but leave this fight to us now, young man. Let's go, Bato!"

That was all he said before grinning, and going off to join the other warriors.

Zuko simply stared as the two older man as they ran off into the battle before realization hit him.

'Hakoda… _the _Hakoda?'

He had heard about the Water Tribe leader from taverns in the Southern Earth Kingdom. The man was a magnificent warrior, and a man of honor that the Earth Kingdom was more than willing to have on their side.

Zuko clenched his swords and sheathed them so that he would have an easier time running. Normally he would have complied with the request, being the kind of person to avoid getting involved in something that would lead to people realizing who he was, but the soldiers were his opponents first. Childish as the thoughts were, he had picked the fight, and he was now going to finish it. Besides, fighting alongside the Water Tribe leader would be an honor, and it would give him something to brag about later on. He followed them, and would render assistance in any way he could.

The Firebenders fought hard, but the Water Tribe warriors had the high ground and began to drive them down to the beaches. As Zuko tried to catch up to them, he witnessed the warriors' skill in battle. He was in awe, but also intimidated by their ferocity. They did not fight like a regimented military, but they did fight as a group. Working together, pulling individual talents and abilities and using them to their maximum potential. It was a potent combination of strength, speed, and teamwork that kept the Fire Nation on the run until they arrived at the beach.

When the two groups got to the beaches, the fight was no longer one-sided. Most of the non-bending Fire Nation soldiers had fallen back, and only the firebenders remained. They had no intentions of running however. In fact they were fighting much more ferociously now that they were out in the open, no longer restricted by the trees and thick brush of the woods. This put several of the Water Tribe warriors on the defensive, and some into weaving toward their enemies.

When Zuko arrived at the beach, he saw Hakoda finish dealing with a spear man when he noticed the enemy leader ready to attack the black haired warrior from earlier from behind.

"Look out!" he shouted.

Hakoda heard him, and spun around to see who had said that when his eyes caught the sergeant trying to sneak up on Bato.

"Bato!"

Bato suddenly felt heat against his back, and turned around only to see a powerful blast his chest hard. He flew to the ground as the fire burned his clothes and skin, causing him to howl in pain, and a moment after the rough landing, struggled to get back up. The sergeant charged to finish off Bato, but Hakoda charged in as well. Being lightly armored, Hakoda was quickly closing the gap to Bato, but the sergeant pulled out one last trick. He sent a powerful blast heading straight to the wounded warrior, and it traveled faster than Hakoda's own legs could carry him.

'…No, I can't make it!' Hakoda thought as he pushed his legs beyond his limit and struggled to keep fatigue from winning.

He didn't have to.

A powerful jet of fire hit the ground, in front of Bato, and consumed the incoming blast before dying down on the non-combustible sands.

Bato, Hakoda, the sergeant and everyone else all looked to the directions that the flames had come from. While the firebenders simply scoffed, the Water Tribe warriors stared dumbfounded as the saw that Bato's savior was the boy Hakoda had earlier told to leave the battle.

The boy was a firebender.

As he stared, Hakoda remembered what the young girl had told just minutes ago.

"_Please sirs help," she pleaded while catching her breath, "Fire Nation soldiers in… Earth Kingdom uniforms… a young man is fighting them… but he-"_

"_Where?" Hakoda asked._

"_Down the road," she answered, "But… let me finish. The young man is-"_

"_I'm sorry, but if a single person is fighting them, then we need to move," he cut her off, "Let's go men."_

_He and his war band ran off down the road to confront their enemy._

"Is this what the girl was trying to tell me?" he asked himself.

He watched as the boy crept closer, never breaking out of his stance, as the sergeant turned his attention to the boy.

"Interfering in another's battle?" he sneered, "What kind of self-respecting firebender would do that?"

"You're one to talk," retorted the boy, "You just attacked a warrior from behind, without honor."

"There's no need to fight savages with honor," said the firebender, "Neither is there a need for it when fighting a traitor like you."

'Traitor?' thought Hakoda.

Zuko stared down at the firebender, and readied himself for battle. He felt the adrenaline pumping, a roll of sweat trailing down. He couldn't tell if it was because something snapped when the Water Tribe man was attacked from behind, the fact that he blew his cover in front of a war band of Water Tribe warriors, or if it was from the faces of Sokka and Katara flashing in his mind when it happened. He'd figure in out later; all that mattered at the moment was the firebender in front of him.

He took a stance, and faced the sergeant as he did the same. They circled each other for a few brief moments before the sergeant fired the first shot. Zuko instinctively blocked it, and shot a counter blast. The man also deflected this blast and in the same motion, shot an attack from his foot before swinging back and punching two larger blasts from his fists. Zuko anticipated the attacks, and dodged them, rolled, and getting back onto his feet. He was taking the battle seriously, but slowly, spending the majority of the skirmish letting his body remember the forms and feeling of his bending, and allowing his mind to revert to the mindset of a firebender.

Slowly, but surely, it was all coming back to him.

After dodging another attack, Zuko, very quickly, snapped his arms back and rapidly shot off blasts in short successive bursts at the sergeant's feet to break his stance. The sergeant managed to avoid the attacks by stepping backward, but this is what Zuko was counting on.

The sergeant took a step back as he dodged another blast to his foot, but when he was about to get his footing, he sank into the ground.

"What the-" he began looking down at the ground.

Zuko was pleased in managing to break his opponent's root to the ground.

The sergeant struggled to get his foot out of the wet sand when he heard the whiz of a fire blast heading towards him, and he snapped his head up, seeing a very large and powerful flame. In less than a second it sent him flying into the sea.

After a few moments, there was a pillar of steam bursting from the water, and the enraged sergeant charged at Zuko.

Zuko, now confident in his refreshed bending abilities, faced his frustrated opponent with renewed vigor. The sergeant lunged at him sending fire in every direction. Zuko blocked most of the flames with his own fire, and sent a few to his opponent. As he did, he slowly advanced, and his opponent took careful steps back. Zuko, seeing that he wouldn't get anywhere with steady attacks, ducked to avoid an incoming blast and formed fire daggers and charged at the sergeant, weaving side to side to avoid getting hit. The older firebender began to step back, but Zuko moved too quickly toward him and closed the distance. He lashed his flame dagger out and cut the bender across the cheek, causing the older bender to reel back and making a partially cauterized wound. The sergeant, in a fit of rage, quickly grabbed some sand and threw it at Zuko's eye. The Water Tribe warriors were shocked at the underhanded ploy, as Zuko's hand went to his face.

The sergeant immediately heated his hands, and went for Zuko. However, victory would not favor the dishonorable today. Zuko felt the heat closing in on his face, and an image of his father's fist flashed in his mind. He immediately tilted his head to dodge the attack, and caught the man's wrist. Zuko heated his hands intensely, causing the Earth Kingdom vambrace that the older bender wore to heat up. While the man wailed at the intensity of the heat, Zuko blinked the last bits of sand from his eye, ignoring the pain in his own hand, and gave the man a cold, almost lethal glare.

"That was a pretty stupid stunt-," began Zuko with fierce eyes as the older bender tried to get out of his grasp.

"You little brat, let me go!" the sergeant demanded.

"I fought and lived through Uragiri. Tricks like that won't work on me," said Zuko, ignoring the mans' protest

The older bender stopped struggling out of shock.

"Uragiri…" he gasped, "I-It can't be. You're ly-"

Zuko didn't let him finish. He pulled the sergeant toward him, and sent him flying with a powerful flame kick. The older man struggled to get up, but fell on his back and as he looked at the young man, he realized he was no longer looking at the same kid who got in the way of his fight. He thought only one thing: 'This kid's eyes… he was one of them… He mentioned Uragiri… that's where _they_ fought.'

"You… T-Then you were a member of _his_ division? Y-You fought under The T-Tiger-Wolf?" stammered the sergeant.

Zuko dropped from his stance, and gave his robe a slight tug. He pulled out his handkerchief and displayed it, causing all the Fire Nation soldiers to take a step back.

"Yes," answered Zuko.

The soldiers looked in horror and fear at the sight of the handkerchief, and what it represented.

"Leave," said Zuko causing the men to look up, "Leave and never come back. Tell your commanding officer that you failed, that you were found out."

"B-But…" began the sergeant, only daring to look up.

Zuko's good eye was narrowed and almost completely black, and his voice was cold and even. He made a gesture toward the swords on his back, wordlessly stating his intentions if they didn't do as he ordered, and the soldiers immediately ran.

As Zuko saw them leave, the color in his eyes began to return.

'Even after all this time… we're still feared,' he thought closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.

The adrenaline in Zuko's body began to die down. Despite the exhaustion setting in, he felt exhilarated. Bending his element made him feel alive. The feel of the intense power within him which coursed through his veins and caressed his skin was unlike any other in the world, and he missed that feeling.

The moment was short lived, when he felt a cold aura behind him, reminding him of the one he got from Katara when he sat on Appa's saddle for the first time.

He turned around and saw three Water Tribe warriors with their spears ready to kill.

**xXxXx**

Hakoda was shocked that the boy was a firebender, but even more so that he would fight his own people to protect his best friend. He was not willing to leave things to chance though. He gave a hand signal to three of his warriors to keep a steady eye on the boy, but not harm him. The warriors began to lead Zuko to their leader while he tended to his friend.

"Bato…" began Hakoda as he examined the burns on his friend's chest.

"Don't look so concerned, it's just a flesh wound," said Bato weakly, trying to cheer his friend up.

"This isn't funny," scolded Hakoda.

"Neither are your jokes," replied Bato.

Hakoda would have scowled at the comment had it not been for Bato's wound. Bato slowly began to close his eyes, falling into unconsciousness.

"Bato?" Hakoda started to shake Bato, "Bato!"

"I can help him."

Hakoda looked up to see the boy.

"What did you say?" he asked to make sure he wasn't hearing things.

"I said, I can help him… if you let me," the boy repeated sheepishly.

Hakoda studied the boy, wanting to know if the intentions were for helping for helping's sake, or something else. The boy's face was filled with blatant concern and honesty within the amber pools.

"What should we do?" asked one of the warriors.

Hakoda looked down on the wounds that his friend suffered from. The burns were very extensive, and looked way beyond his skill, even with the knowledge he had in treating burns. He looked at the boy, and sighed as he realized he needed help.

"Very well," said Hakoda lacing his voice with a tone of warning. He looked to the three warriors guarding him, "Keep an eye on him."

Zuko approached with the other warriors in tow, keeping his hands in plain view to show that he meant no harm. When he got to the man, now known to him as Bato, he knelt down and opened the burned tunic he wore. The burns were indeed serious, but he needed to know specifically how much damage the man had suffered in order to treat them properly.

"I need someone to hold him down for a moment."

Hakoda nodded to two warriors who made their way over to Bato. One got his legs, the other got his arms.

"Ok, this may hurt him, but it's important in knowing what we're dealing with. Hold him tight," he told them.

The did so, and Zuko gingerly pressed down on Bato's burns. When he heard a sharp yelp, and felt Bato's unconsciously jolt, he quickly removed his fingers.

"Alright, he can still feel pain, that's good," said Zuko before telling the warriors to let him go so he could determine what type of burn it was now that he ruled out third-degree burns.

"He has second degree burns," said Zuko after noticing the color of the splotched burns that covered most of Bato's upper body. He returned his attention to Hakoda looking very serious turning, "With those soldiers around, we need to get him somewhere safe, and I need the medicine in my pack so I can properly treat him."

"…very well," said Hakoda acknowledging the boy's instructions, "But, you will have two of my warriors with you to escort you to get your things."

Zuko nodded in understanding, and Hakoda ordered his men to make a makeshift stretcher out of branches from the trees, and their shirts.

"There's an abbey not to far from here, somewhere in the hills," said Zuko before handing him the map and looking back to Bato, "You're going to need to keep his burns cool. Get any light cloth you have and soak it in the sea water. The water should keep his prevent swelling and ease the pain."

Hakoda nodded, and let the boy go with two of his warriors. He ordered the men who weren't going to escort Bato or the boy to return to the ships, and to bring them to the area, before following the boy's orders. They put Bato in the newly made stretcher, and Hakoda followed the map to Abbey. On the way, Hakoda hoped his instincts were correct in trusting the young firebender.

**xXxXx**

The superior and the other nuns gasped in horror as the initiate told the story of the day's events. They began to whisper if the Fire Nation had truly gotten far in the region, and other speculations. However that all stopped when there was banging on the abbey gates. The superior ordered the other women to calm down, and one of them to open the gate.

The woman did as she was ordered, and they saw a man in blue standing with several other men.

"Please! We need help. My friend was wounded."

The superior approached, and took a good look at the man and the injured warrior they were carrying.

"You are Hakoda of the Water Tribe… you saved our initiate, and are an ally of the Earth Kingdom. You will always be welcome, please get your friend inside," she told him.

Hakoda bowed in thanks, and ordered his men to take Bato in. He asked the superior if there was a place that he could set his friend down, and she guided him to one of the guest lodgings reserved for travelers in need of shelter. Once they set him down, Hakoda returned his attention to the superior.

"I have several more men on their way. They're bringing… a specialist in this kind of thing," he told her.

"I will welcome them in," said the superior.

"Can you look after my friend until they return?" he asked with hope in his voice.

"Of course," she answered before calling one of the nuns to get cool, moist towels.

"Thank you for everything," said Hakoda.

After half an hour, there was banging on the door. Hakoda ordered two of his warriors to see who it was. It was the boy, and the other two he had ordered to keep an eye on him.

"That's him!" cried out the initiate, "That's the firebender!"

The other women became distressed, but Hakoda quickly put them at ease saying that he was the one who they were waiting for. The warriors urged Zuko onward to Bato, and when he got there, he opened his pack and rummaged through the contents. He found the medicine that Lao Ren's granddaughter had given him for his journey as thanks for saving her grandfather from Jet. When he got a good look at it after the incident in the valley, he realized it was a very special and highly prized ointment from the Fire Nation that both disinfected and treated burns. Zuko had been saving it for dire situations, and this certainly was one of them since his survival depended on how well he performed at this moment.

"I need bandages, a basin of clean water, and a fresh towel," said Zuko.

Hakoda asked the superior to cooperate, and reassured her that the boy was being watched closely. One of the nuns complied with the request, and brought what Zuko asked for. Zuko washed his hands thoroughly in the clean basin, and when he finished drying them opened the ointment's casing and used his hands to gather a generous amount. When it made contact with Bato's skin, the warrior stiffened in a jolt of pain and released a grunt.

"Easy there," said Zuko calmly.

He began to rub the ointment on Bato's burns, and once he finished coating the soothing mixture on the burns, Bato slowly began to relax. Slowly, Bato fell asleep with steady breathing, and Zuko turned to the warriors.

"You're going to have to help him sit up so I can wrap the bandages," he said.

Hakoda personally did this part, as Zuko got the bandages. He tied a loop around the bottom portion of his burn, and afterward, he quickly and smoothly began to wrap Bato tightly, but still loose enough for the body to breath and feel at ease.

"Alright, that should do," said Zuko, "All he needs now is rest, a daily change of bandages, and cold water bath."

"What about that ointment?" asked Hakoda.

"No," answered Zuko, "The ointment is meant to soothe, disinfect, and help start the healing process. One treatment is usually enough, but we'll see how it goes as it progresses. Here."

Zuko was handing the ointment to Hakoda, who looked at it before taking it.

"If he starts to scratch at his bandages, then that means he'll need another treatment. Just make sure your hands are clean when you use it," said Zuko. "Aside from that, all you need to do is follow the directions I've given out. Oh, and no strenuous exercise."

Hakoda had to admit, he was impressed with the boy. He was amazed at how the young firebender treated Bato, and listed the necessary steps to get Bato better so calmly and carefully. The boy seemed so young, but he knew so much.

"Those soldiers…" began Zuko still looking at his patient, "There may be more of them besides that group. You may want to alert the nearest Earth Kingdom garrison and warn them before something bad happens."

Hakoda nodded in approval, and told a warrior named Nava to send a message to the fortress of San Shang telling them the information given by the young firebender. He began to wonder if maybe the older firebender was right. The boy was a traitor, therefore an ally.

Then a thought occurred to him.

Unless he could prove the boy was on their side, he was still technically an enemy. The helpful attitude, the intelligence that was given, all of it could have been a ploy to assassinate him. His instincts as a warrior told him there was only one way to deal with him.

Fortunately for Zuko, age had tempered Hakoda's prejudice. His instincts as a fair-minded leader began to come into play as he decided to think of another way to deal with the boy. He did not think the boy was bad, and honor demanded he repay him for his efforts in helping, even if it may only be a final request in the end.

"Hakoda," began one of the warriors, "What do we do about him?"

Hakoda looked at the warrior as though he had read his thoughts before returning his attention to the boy. He promptly made his decision.

"We keep him around, just in case something happens to Bato," said Hakoda deciding to buy him a little time, "Once we confirm Bato is well, then we'll decide his fate."

Hakoda looked to the boy, "Do you promise to behave until then?"

Zuko nodded, "On my honor."

**xXxXx**

Zuko sat in a cellar underneath the abbey. The warriors marveled that he was not acting arrogant or calling them wild savages or being snide about Bato. Zuko instead meditated, and began contemplating his life, as if he was expecting his execution. Suddenly, Zuko's thoughts were on Hakoda.

He had ensured that he was fed, and put under decent care, and on occasion would watch him personally to give his warriors a break. Now was one such time and Zuko felt as though the leader was looking at someone else when he was being watched by him. To Zuko's surprise, so did he. Ever since he saw Hakoda, something about the Water Tribe leader still struck a chord with him, as if he had met him earlier somehow, but he couldn't place his finger on it.

"We've been doing as you told us," Hakoda began.

Zuko thoughts abruptly ended, and he looked to his warden. It had been two days since the battle, and this was the first time that anyone had ever said anything to him other than "Here's your food and water."

"He's making a good recovery," he continued, "That ointment you gave him really did wonders for him."

"…I see," said Zuko looking away, "That's good."

There was a resounding silence surrounding them, before Hakoda cleared his throat.

"I am Hakoda," he started, "I am the chief of the Southern Water Tribe."

Zuko looked at him oddly, but cleared his own throat.

"I'm Zuko," he said courteously before looking back at the ground.

Hakoda just gave a noise that meant he heard him.

'Just a name…? He'll tell me when he's ready, I suppose,' thought Hakoda before pressing on, "How old are you?"

Zuko snapped his head back up. Was this guy trying to make small conversation? He looked at the guy with his good eyebrow raised.

"You don't have to talk, I get it," sighed Hakoda.

Zuko gulped, "…sixteen."

Hakoda looked at him.

"I'm sixteen years old," Zuko repeated.

Hakoda was bewildered.

"You're sixteen?"

"Yes," said Zuko.

"I assumed you were older, at least eighteen," he began, "The way you treated Bato's injuries, unflinching and focused, you must have seen the war first hand. Were you a medic?"

'Might as well,' thought Zuko, "Not exactly. The army I was a part of was understaffed, so I had to learn other skills to keep it functioning. But first and foremost, I was a soldier, and I fought my first battle when I was thirteen."

Hakoda was stunned.

"That's so young…" he said, "My son wanted to join me in the war when he was that age, but I told him he couldn't. He was too young, and he needed to protect his sister."

Zuko was quiet for a while.

"You're son is very lucky," he stated, "No one that young should be sent to war. There is more than physical pain on the battlefield."

"I agree," said Hakoda.

The superior walked in and gave Hakoda a nod before waving her hands, and two women came in, each with a bowl of porridge. An older nun gave Hakoda his, and the initiate that Zuko had met approached him with his. Zuko could tell she was nervous and looked away from her to put her at ease, and whispered a thank you after she gave him the meal. She ran out hurriedly, and the superior left the two alone.

_**The Next Day…**_

Hakoda joined Nava in watching Zuko, and Hakoda wasted no time in greeting Zuko and returning to the conversation from yesterday.

"You mentioned that the army you were in was understaffed, how so?" asked Hakoda, giving Nava a confused expression at the sight of his leader's apparent ease around the firebender.

"There's a lack of manpower in the army. The age of recruitment was reduced from fifteen to thirteen to compensate, and even then, the soldiers aren't well trained at the barracks. Recruits had to finish their training in the field or from surviving veterans. In other words, war was our graduation exam," explained Zuko.

"So, it's _trial by fire_?" asked Nava rather snidely.

Zuko grimaced at the word choice, and worked really hard to hold back his glare.

"Nava, don't interrupt," warned Hakoda, sensing Zuko's discomfort.

Nava stormed from the room. After the awkward silence, Hakoda spoke up again.

"Um… so, what was your training?"

Zuko decided to finish the conversation.

"My division was very… chaotic. It was once part of a group of divisions, and was given an important task to carry out. But they failed, and the divisions fell into disfavor. Some of them were disbanded, but those that remained gathered together and made a single unit. It was a melting pot basically, which is why in addition to being a trained soldier, I also have some medical skills and… other talents," finished Zuko when a blue and white mask flashed in his mind.

"Multitalented, eh?" asked Hakoda.

"Well… I guess you could say that," said Zuko.

_**The following morning…**_

"So, what's it like in the South Pole?" asked Zuko.

Hakoda looked up.

"Well, I figured if you wanted to make conversation, I should get on it too," said Zuko.

"…It's winter all year round. The summers, I guess you could call them that, they are slightly warmer than usual, but still cold," described Hakoda.

"I'm guessing there's a lot of snow too?" asked Zuko, despite how pointless the question was.

"Oh yes, lots of it," answered the chief with a chuckle.

"I've only seen snow once while in the Northern Earth Kingdom last year, and it was only a small pile of it," said Zuko, "It was nice."

"You wouldn't say that if you lived in it everyday," joked Hakoda, "The snow and the harsh environment make life hard. But it makes our people as a community stronger. We trust each other with our lives, and love one another as though we were part of a much larger family."

"That sounds nice," said Zuko sincerely, "It sounds a lot more appealing than the Fire Nation sense of community."

"How so?" asked Hakoda.

"We have the same idea of banding together, but it's more of the 'my way or the highway' variety," answered Zuko, "Any form of dissention or deviation from the rules is met with swift punishment."

Hakoda noticed Zuko stroke his eye patch as he said that.

"I see," said Hakoda.

Zuko sighed, and turned to face Hakoda.

"Why are you doing this?" Zuko asked.

"What?" asked Hakoda.

"Talking to me, trying to get to know me," clarified Zuko, "I mean, don't get me wrong, it's nice to have someone to talk to, but I'm your enemy. If I was held by the Earth Kingdom, I'd be lucky enough to be executed."

Hakoda knew what Zuko was implying, and he thought about it for a while. Why was he doing this?

"I guess… I wanted to know who you are," he answered slowly.

"Who I am?" asked Zuko.

"I leaned never to jump to conclusions about people pretty early on in my time in war. I've seen plenty of firebenders, and you're unlike any of the others I've met. I wanted to see what you're like before I made any kind of decision regarding your fate," answered Hakoda.

"So what is my fate?"

Before Hakoda could answer, Nava burst in with a scroll in his hands.

"Hakoda, some news," he said causing the chief to stand up.

"What is it Nava?" he asked.

"Well, there's good news and there's bad news too," he began, "The good news is that Bato is getting better."

Hakoda sighed in relief, "But, what's the bad news?"

"We received orders from Ba Sing Se," began Nava handing him a scroll, "They can't afford to maintain troops in this isolated region anymore, so the Earth Kingdom armies are organizing an orderly retreat of soldiers and civilians from the last of the western provinces by sea to Chameleon Bay. We are to go to provide an armed escort, and afterwards, to protect the city from the coast. However, that's where the bad news starts; Bato is still not well enough to travel."

"…I see," said Hakoda sadly.

"What should we do?" Nava asked.

"Wait with the others, I'll be there shortly," he answered.

Nava left the room, and Hakoda let out a sigh. He turned around to see Zuko looking at the ground.

Hakoda understood the expression on his face, but he knew one thing. He cleared his throat, getting Zuko's attention.

"To answer your question from earlier, I think you're a good kid. You did not cause trouble, and I have to say, I'm very impressed with your character. You treated my friend's injuries, kept to your promise, and you've been rather calm throughout this whole ordeal. That's not something I would expect from someone from the Fire Nation," said Hakoda before taking a deep breath, "I'm going to let you go."

Zuko's eyes widened.

"You are?"

"Like I said, you're a good kid. You don't deserve death," said Hakoda.

"Thank you," said Zuko with a bow, "I'm forever in your debt."

Hakoda smiled before he looked at the orders on the scroll. He would have to leave within the week, but he couldn't just leave Bato either. The mother superior's entrance broke him out of his troubled concerns.

"Yes superior," began Hakoda.

"Bato would like to meet the one who treated him," she answered looking at the boy.

Hakoda noticed that the superior had begun to warm up to boy as well. Granted, she did have her suspicions about him at first, but like Hakoda, she was impressed by his courteous behavior. They two looked to the boy, and Hakoda walked over, undid his binds, and helped Zuko get back on his feet. Hakoda led Zuko from the cellar to the entrance of the room where Bato was in, and the wounded warrior tilted his head to the side to see his leader and friend.

"You look terrible," commented Bato.

"It's your fault," joked Hakoda.

Bato gave a wry smile, and looked around.

"Where is he?"

Hakoda motioned him in, and Zuko was brought before Bato. There were a lot of wary eyes staring at the boy as he knelt before the warrior. Bato looked at Zuko surprised.

"This is him?" he asked earning a nod from Hakoda, "He's so young."

"Yes, he's sixteen," replied Hakoda getting some mixed responses from the other warriors and a shocked one from his friend.

"Sixteen," repeated Bato in amazement, "Tui and La, Sokka would be around his age by now."

That was when Zuko make a not so typically straight expression. Hakoda noticed the boy's eye widen, and his mouth fall ajar.

"Wait, Sokka?" blurted out Zuko, "You know Sokka?"

**Cliffhanger! Was the chapter rushed? Did you like the Hakoda and Zuko conversations/ interactions? Please tell me.**

**More snippets of Zuko's past! How will Hakoda and Bato react to Zuko's knowledge of Sokka? Find out next time.**

**Author's Notes:**

**In reference to the story changes before the chapter, the story's title will remain the same, but the summary will change. Also, I was going over the story thus far. It seems a lot of the story is Zuko oriented, as well as many of the chapters that I have in my head. So for that reason, I may remove Katara as a secondary character. DO NOT WORRY! THIS WILL STILL BE ZUTARA! I have no intention of deviating from my favorite couple in the show. I'll just see how the story plays out before I make that decision.**

**This chapter was originally going to take place during "The Deserter." In it, Sokka and Katara were going to regret what they did in driving Zuko away, and Katara was going to be curious about Zuko. It seemed rushed when I finished it though, and I didn't want that to happen. So this chapter was written to set it up, as well as the following chapters.**

**Since the battle mention in "Bato of the Water Tribe never really went into detail, I figured I could write it out for the purposes of my story. Also, I will be playing with the supposed timeline of the canon for this portion of the story, so if this bothers people, please don't get mad.**

**Assuming I looked at the Avatar world map the right way, I think the Western provinces of the Earth Kingdom are like Alaska, and Eastern Earth Kingdom is like Russia. And the stretch of ocean in between is the Bering Straight. Analogies! **

**Nava, the warrior mentioned, comes from "Navajo." **

**Uragiri is a Japanese word for "betrayal."**

**Thank you for reading and please review.**


	6. Trust

**Wow! 16 reviews for chapter 5! I outdid chapter 1. Thanks everyone! You guys are totally AWESOME!**

**That makes me so happy. I'm glad that a lot of people responded to the chapter and that they liked it in some way. It's good to know my little gamble paid off. **

**Oh, and to clear things up in the last chapter, in reference to Zuko's eyes in the battle scene, they do not literally change color. It's just a death glare that's pretty common in Kung Fu movies, and Anime. Its purpose is to magnify malicious intent, or to intimidate, depending on who uses it. So if that threw anyone off, I apologize.**

**Also, no one's mentioned this before, but I figure I should say it anyway. If any of you guys do fan art of fanfictions and whatnot, you're free to do so with this and other stories of mine. I'd just like to know where I can find it, and who to thank. I know it may be asking a lot of people, but it would be really awesome if someone did. I'd do it myself, but I rarely have the time to sit down and draw. **

**Now then, here is the next chapter to **_**Homeless Dragon**_**. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender. It is the property of its creators and Nickelodeon.**

Chapter 6: Trust

"_You_ know Sokka?" asked Hakoda once he got over the initial shock.

Zuko saw the emotion in the older man's eyes, and saw a mixture of relief, happiness, sadness, and desperation. Before Zuko could really discern the emotions the man was feeling, Nava cut in.

"Describe him," he challenged before looking to Hakoda, "We should make sure it's really Sokka before you get your hopes up."

All the other tribesmen agreed with Nava on this suggestion. They had all missed their homes and families, and desperately wanted to hear any kind of news regarding them. However, they knew better than to simply get their hopes up by trusting some stranger claiming to know such precious information.

"Tell me," said Hakoda as he looked to Zuko.

"Um… ok," said Zuko before he cleared his throat, "Sokka's thin, lanky, and a little awkward. He has his hair raised in the same style your hair's in, but anything not tied is shaved off. His voice cracks too, and he has dark blue eyes, kind of like yours. He also has a club and a boomerang, and he tries to make himself appear to be a strong warrior and wise leader…" Zuko paused when he saw tears welling up in Hakoda's eyes, "Um sir… I didn't upset you or anything… did I?"

"No… you didn't…" answered Hakoda, "You see, Sokka is my son."

Zuko's complexion became slightly paler, and his mouth dropped.

"Your son?" he asked as he studied Hakoda's face for a moment. The face had the same bone structure, the eyes were the same shade of navy blue, and the hair was unmistakable. This man was indeed Sokka's father, but then his heart nearly stopped, "…wait, if he's your son, then Katara must be your daughter."

The mood changed from heartwarming to tense the moment Hakoda heard his little girl's name. His instincts as a father made him get onto his knees and grab Zuko's shoulders and his gaze tuned very sharp.

"You've met my daughter as well? When did this happen? How did you meet them? You didn't do anything to her did you?" asked Hakoda in rapid succession, unable to give Zuko a chance to respond. If the physical resemblance didn't give him away as Sokka's father, the accusatory instincts at the mention of Katara's name did.

"Calm down Hakoda, let him speak," began Bato, "

Hakoda took a deep breath, "Describe her too."

It was the same command as before. However, Zuko didn't really know how to describe Katara to her father, but knew he had to. He could tell that the man looking at him had not seen his family for a very long time, and sympathized with him. He missed his uncle and mother, and knew that if there was a kind of information, however trivial, he would jump on the opportunity to hear it. But Zuko knew that giving information on Katara was easier said than done. He knew that he and Katara weren't exactly on good terms, but neither were they on bad terms. He took a deep breath to calm down however, thinking it may be better to simply get it over with.

"Katara has hair-loopies, a braid, and sapphire eyes. She has a good heart and tends to think of others, but it gets aggravating sometimes," he stopped and thought quickly, "… er, that is to say… if someone is in trouble she'll put her life on the line for them even if she doesn't need to. She also has a temper, which I got to experience once. Nothing bad happened to her, just to me. Oh, and she's a waterbender."

Hakoda gave a bittersweet chuckle at Zuko's description of his daughter, "I see… she's become like her mother," said Hakoda.

There was no mistaking it. Those were his children that Zuko was speaking of. Sokka was still the same boy that he was when Hakoda left for war: always standing up straight way too much, puffing out his chest to be strong, and carrying his boomerang wherever he went. However, Katara was different from how he remembered her. When he left, she was still shaken by her mother's death, and even before that, she was somewhat shy and demure. Now, it seemed she grew out of it, and became a fierce woman in her right. In fact, based on Zuko's description, she had drifted to her mother's personality, particularly Kya's protective nature and her temper. She was becoming a woman, and he wasn't there to see it, "So, you really have met my children."

"Yes, it's a long story," answered Zuko.

Nava and several other warriors laid out their protests to Zuko's claim in knowing the Water Tribe siblings. Some had even suggested that Zuko must have known them because he was an enemy to the two.

"Look, if you want proof then I can provide it. I can tell you all my encounters with them if you like," suggested Zuko.

"No."

Everyone turned to Hakoda.

"I don't want to hear it," said Hakoda sadly.

Zuko balked at the chief's statement. He felt for sure he would have to tell them everything he knew.

"Are you sure?" asked Zuko.

"Yes, I'm sure, but I do want to know if they are safe, wherever they are," said Hakoda.

"Well, they're with the Avatar, so I can't really think of any place safer," answered Zuko.

"The Avatar?" gasped Hakoda. His curiosity grew, as well as the curiosity of the rest of his men, but he shook his head, "Why are they with Avatar? What happened to the village in the South Pole?"

"I'm not sure," said Zuko cautiously as he remembered Sokka mention it in a conversation after the Jet incident, "They never really went into great detail, except for the part where that was where they found Aang, the Avatar. I think your village is fine. They didn't really seem sad or distressed at the mention of it."

Sighs of relief were heard, but one person stepped forward.

"You guys can't be serious," muttered Nava.

Everyone looked at him.

"Don't tell me you guys are actually buying his guy's garbage," he added, "Did everyone forget _he_ is a firebender? He's an enemy, and you're willing to trust his word about our families and friends? What if he's a spy?"

"I don't think he's a spy," said Bato, "If he was, he would have tried to get information from us as much as possible."

"Still, we shouldn't give him information on our village like that. The Fire Nation could use it against us," added Nava.

For once, Hakoda seemed to agree with the young Water Tribe warrior. As much as he liked Zuko, he wasn't willing to trust him with sensitive information like that. Especially since Zuko was a traitor. If he was ever captured and interrogated… it could be disastrous for the remnants of his tribe.

"Very well Nava, we'll stop talking about the village," said Hakoda, "Young man, you're free to go."

"But Hakoda, don't you want to hear about Sokka and Katara?" said Bato.

"I can't," said Hakoda.

Zuko knew Hakoda was lying. Years of living with his sister had attuned his senses in figuring out if a person was lying. He could tell Hakoda desperately wanted to know how his children were doing, but figured it was best to follow the warrior's wishes, hoping to strengthen his new acquaintance with the Water Tribe chief.

"Very well," said Zuko, "Thank you for treating me fairly as your prisoner. It was an honor to meet you."

He left the room, leaving behind Hakoda and Bato and the remaining warriors.

**xXxXx**

An hour had passed since Hakoda heard from Zuko that he knew his children. In the hour after he told them the partial information Zuko got a hearty, warm meal from the nuns to make up for the bowl of rice and small fish he had to eat in his confinement. Afterward, he went to his room to gather his belongings.

As he got his pack and his swords together, and was ready to move on to the east to the central Earth Kingdom, he heard a rap on the door. He turned around and saw Hakoda standing in the door holding the medicine used to treat Bato.

"You forgot something," said Hakoda.

"I don't really need it," said Zuko, "I think it would be put to better use among you and your men."

Hakoda smiled and pocketed the medicine.

"Thanks for your help," he replied.

"Take care Hakoda of the Southern Tribe."

Zuko bowed and left the older warrior, heading out the front gate of the abbey. Hakoda watched the young man leave, and had a feeling that this was not the last time he was ever going to see him.

He went to Bato in the makeshift infirmary and sat next to him.

"Look's like we get some free medicine," he joked to his wounded friend.

"Why didn't you want to hear about Sokka and Katara?" asked Bato suddenly, not bothering to roll his eyes at Hakoda's attempt at a joke.

It was just like Bato to cut right to the chase. Hakoda sighed.

"I just… I miss them, and I don't… I'd feel more comfortable know about my children when it's them telling me about themselves," he didn't think he was getting his point across very clearly, "I don't want to just hear about them; I want to see them, to hold them while I do. If I just hear about them, and they're not there it will make me miss them more."

Bato looked at his friend, and chuckled.

"I know how you feel Hakoda," said Bato, "I wish I could hold my wife in my arms right now, but you know we're in a war. I… may never see her again."

Hakoda was about to scold his friend, but Bato swiftly cut him off, "It's not healthy to think that way, I know. Still if I could at least know how she's doing then that would be fine. It would be all I need to fight for her even more."

Hakoda thought about his friend's words when Nava came in.

"Hakoda, we're going to go hunting for some game," he said.

"Perfect," said a soft voice. The tribesmen saw the Superior and the young initiate who told them about Zuko and the soldiers, "If you are truly going out, perhaps you could escort Haixiu as she gets some flowers for our perfumes and documents them as well."

"But-"

"We would be honored Superior, as repayment for you hospitality," said Hakoda with a sneaky smile.

Any protest that Nava would have had ended right there. He did not want to have a collective guilt trip from his fellow warriors and the nuns… especially the nuns.

"Very well," said Nava trying to hide his grumbling.

**xXxXx**

An hour had passed since he left the abbey, and Zuko was now sitting in the branch of an apple tree, eating the free fruits and picking some for later. It had been days since he did any walking, and now that he was doing it again, he got tired a bit more quickly. He decided to rest to recover, and figured it was better to pace himself for a while to let his body go back into the routine.

It was also a chance to decide whether or not he was going to firebend again. Ever since he was alone in the Earth Kingdom, he had been hiding his most treasured gift for the sake of survival. But now that he had been exposed to the raw power of fire once again, the desire to manipulate it was something he couldn't just ignore anymore.

'Maybe a little practice wouldn't hurt,' he thought.

Suddenly a piercing scream and then a thunderous roar ripped through the air. Zuko almost lost his balance on the branch at the sudden disturbance to the tranquil setting. Once he got his balance recentered, he looked in the direction where it came from. It took him a moment to realize the source of the sound was between him and the abbey.

He jumped down and ran straight for it, hoping he wouldn't be too late.

_Earlier…_

An hour ago, Nava and three warriors, Sea (a/n: Sei-ya), Inu, and Kota, were hunting for game in the woods under the condition that they escort the initiate Haixiu. It was not a difficult task since, but it was an agonizingly long task. The girl meticulously inspected every single aspect of the flower and was taking highly detailed notes. When asked to hurry, her eyes went dark and it immediately shut Nava up.

After forty-five minutes of waiting Haixiu finished, and followed the hunters.

"Are you sure you want to come with us? I mean hunting isn't exactly something women do," said Kota.

"I am quite sure," said Haixiu, "After all, you had to go through me picking and studying flowers. It's only fair. Besides I can't go back on my own; it's dangerous for a young, defenseless girl to be by herself in this area."

Suddenly, they heard a rustle in the brush.

They all stopped and looked around. They saw a bush move, and Inu warriors got his spear. Another rustle, and Inu hurled it at the source of the disturbance. A loud squeal rang into the air.

"We got it!" shouted Sea.

They approached what was to be a fresh kill, but they only saw a blur.

It was a baby boarcupine rattling its quills loudly as it trembled. However, the Water Tribe warriors were still relatively new to this region in the Earth Kingdom and were unfamiliar with all the local wildlife. As a result, they had no real idea what they were looking at. They knew it was an infant, but it wasn't hurt, only scared, and when they saw the quills, they knew it was inedible. And if it wasn't, it would too labor intensive for so small a meat.

"Oh well, so much for lunch," grunted Nava.

"Why what did you guys-" began Haixiu as she approached to see the animal, but her face blanched and her feet stopped. The four tribe warriors looked at her curiously.

"What is it?" asked Kota.

"It's a baby boarcupine… we have to get out of here, now," said Haixiu.

It was then that the warriors sensed the air around them became very still. Inu, who was three years older than the other three and a more experienced hunter, sensed Haixiu was right. Something was wrong. It was too quiet.

"Alright, we're leaving," he said.

They all nodded, when suddenly they smelled something awful. They all covered their faces, appalled by the stench.

"Ugh… what is that," said Nava.

They all turned to run, but they stopped before they could take another step. They heard the baby animal scurry past them, and deeper and to the source of the rank stench. After a moment, a looming shadow emerged from the spot the baby scurried to. It was large, heavy, and very angry.

A fully grown, mother boarcupine huffed when she came into full view.

Haixiu screamed, and the boarcupine roared before making a mad charge.

**xXxXx**

Zuko darted into the woods, and followed the occasional scream. When he entered into a forest clearing, he saw a very large boarcupine. At its feet were three severely injured Water Tribe warriors, leaning on a tree covered in blood was Nava, and in a branch above him was the initiate. The boarcupine presented its tusks in an aggressive manner as it prepared to charge at Nava.

"Hey!" Zuko shouted.

The boarcupine heard Zuko and faced him with a roar. Nava and Haixiu looked at the young firebender, and saw that he was prepared to fight. The large creature pawed at the ground preparing to charge and rattled its quills. Zuko, realizing how reckless he had been in simply getting an angry boarcupine's attention, took deep breaths to calm down and prep his bending. Despite his victory earlier in the week, he knew that he was a far cry from what he was before having to hide his bending.

Still, he was determined not to back down.

"Go!" he shouted to the two while making sure the wild creature in front of him looked only at him.

Nava caught Haixiu as she dropped herself from the tree, and she helped the limping warrior get back to the abbey to be treated and to get help.

When Zuko felt they were gone, he shot a flame into the air, giving the wild animal a warning, but it didn't faze the enraged beast at all. It charged anyway, and quickly. Zuko shot one more blast at the ground in front of it in a final attempt to scare off the wild animal, but it charged through the flames.

Zuko jumped out of the way, before the animal collided with him, and rolled back onto his feet before backing away even further. The boarcupine turned around and shot another roar to Zuko, and ground its hooves deeper into the earth as it prepared to charge once again. This time, it fully extended its quills and gave another charge. Zuko was about to jump out of the way, when he felt something warm slither down his side. He didn't have time to think about it and jumped out of the way, but the slight delay in the warm feeling made him jump a second too late.

While in mid air, one of the boarcupine's tusks grazed his thigh, and he fell on to his side. Unable to get back onto his feet, he raised himself as best he could and saw the charging animal ready to bore its tusks into his body. Adrenaline once again kicked in, and he quickly got onto his knees, ignored the pain, struggled to maintain his balance, and in a desperate gamble took the deepest breath he had ever taken in three years.

He concentrated for a moment, and in another his eyes snapped open. His arms moved in set motions and gave out a powerful shout. Massive bursts of fire shot from his arms and extended into the sky, and a great jet of flame sprayed from his mouth and arms creating an imposing pillar of raging fire. The intensity of the heat and the brilliant red flames stopped the boarcupine, and its primal fears set in. A simple flame may not be able to scare off a fully grown boarcupine, but a firestorm was another story. The large animal ran off, getting away from the raging inferno in front of it. When it was gone, Zuko collapsed onto the ground, the adrenaline once again leaving his veins.

He fell to the ground, and the world became dark.

**xXxXx**

A sharp pain shot through his mind, causing Zuko to wake up instantly and give off a short yelp.

"So, you're awake I see."

Zuko turned to the smug voice, and saw Hakoda sitting on a stool and Bato propped on an elbow looking at him.

"What… happened?" he asked.

"What do you remember?" asked Bato.

"I remember… injured warriors… Nava and a girl… and a fully grown boarcupine… that's about - GAH!" he shot as he clutched his side trying to get up.

"Easy, you're injured," said a softer voice.

Zuko turned to see the young initiate he met. He looked down onto his body and noticed the bandages, "What are my injuries?"

"The ones on your side are from the quills most likely. They somehow managed to whip your body," she began.

'Quills…' Zuko thought remembering adult boarcupine quills were razor sharp to the touch, "Must have been from the first time I dodged the boarcupine. What about my leg? How much damage did the tusks do?"

"Compared to what could have happened, not much. It's just a small gash. You're lucky, but you need to rest for about a week at least before you're fit enough to do any kind of walking."

"I see," replied Zuko, "Thank you Miss… um…"

"Haixiu," she said softly as she wrapped a bandage around the thigh wound awkwardly. When she finished, she stood up, "The superior will be relieved to know you're awake. Also, thank you for saving me earlier."

She bowed and left, and Zuko heard Hakoda and Bato chuckling.

"Looks like you're stuck here with me for a while," said Bato.

Zuko simply lied down. He felt absolutely sore, and wanted to rest more than anything. He was silently promising himself never to do that again unless he absolutely had to when a thought occurred to him, and he shot up again.

"Wait, what happened to Nava and the others?" he asked before clutching his side.

Hakoda snickered at Zuko's self-injury.

"They're all fine; it's quite miraculous really, considering what could have happened. Sea, Inu, and Kota just need a day of bed rest. Nava's still a little shaken, but he'll live. He still can't believe you saved him after the way he treated you."

Zuko let out a sigh of relief.

"Well," Bato began, "You should rest."

"That sounds like a good idea," said Zuko groggily before lying down.

When they heard the even breathing, Bato turned to Hakoda.

"What's going through your mind?" he asked the chief.

"I'm just thinking about what you said earlier," replied Hakoda.

**xXxXx**

The following day, Zuko realized that being injured was a complete and total pain. He was unable to do anything else without the nuns who were taking care of him. It made him feel utterly useless. The worst part though was Haixiu. He wasn't mad at the girl, it was just that her taking care of him was uncomfortable for both of them. As an initiate, she had to learn a number of things: her spiritual responsibilities, the recipes of perfumes, and how to treat the injured. Zuko was a very attractive young man around her age, and Haixiu had never seen a half-naked man before. So when it came to treating the wounds on Zuko's torso, she felt uneasy. Zuko was not even willing to think about how she felt when it came to treating his thigh.

It was something that Hakoda and Bato found very entertaining.

Later that night, Zuko was testing to see if he could move his toes with his injured leg, and as he was doing so, Nava entered holding two bowls for him and Bato.

"Here's your food," said Nava.

Zuko saw the steam coming from it, and knew it was a hot meal. Nava gave it to Bato first, and then set it before him. Zuko looked down at the meal. It was stewed sea prunes; one of the meals from the Water Tribe he heard about. He had heard rumors on how awful it tasted, but he had no intention of being rude to Water Tribe. The real surprise however was that Nava joined him and Bato.

Before he could pick up the meal, he heard Nava clear his throat.

"That was pretty crazy" said Nava, "You know… taking on that wild animal by yourself."

"Yeah… it was," said Zuko, "I'd do it again though… if I had to."

Nava was quiet for a while, and before Zuko could take his first bite, he stopped at the next words he heard from Nava.

"Thanks for doing that. We… Sea, Kota, Inu, and I… we wouldn't be alive if it weren't for you. Also, I'm sorry about how I treated you."

Zuko put the spoon down, and sighed.

"You're welcome, and I accept your apology," said Zuko.

He would have said he didn't need to, but he didn't want to insult the courage Nava had to muster in order to acknowledge and apologize for his mistakes to a firebender. Bato smiled at the scene, Nava began to eat, and Zuko had his first taste of sea prunes.

Some rumors were simply rumors. The prunes were incredible, and he happily ate the rest of the meal. Agni knew he ate worse.

The next day was better for Zuko. He could feel his toes wiggling, as he felt his leg getting better and his side was becoming less painful. It would be a while before he could actually move, or do any kind of training however. That afternoon, Hakoda entered into the area where Zuko and Bato were in, and told them of their impending departure northward to the rendezvous point for the evacuation of the provinces. The Earth Kingdom's plan was to evacuate half of their military forces in the regions in the first trip to secure beachheads and safe passages to Ba Sing Se in the eastern Earth Kingdom, the second and possibly third trips would be the evacuation of civilians, and the last trip would be the remainder of the army serving as the rear guard. Bato, who was still injured from the battle, would rejoin them on the tribes second run. They would be leaving tomorrow, and before he left the two to rest, Hakoda stopped and stared at Zuko.

"So… what was you first impression upon meeting my kids?" he asked.

Zuko panicked. What was he going to say to him?

"That… they were different from other people?" he suggested, which really meant 'They're crazy.'

Hakoda laughed at Zuko's answer.

"Well, it's good to know they're not boring," he answered.

"Yeah, they're definitely anything but that," said Zuko dryly, "Especially if you run into them more than once."

"Oh… sounds like an interesting story," said Hakoda before taking a deep breath, "I-I'd like you to tell me."

Zuko was surprised, "You want me to? But what about a few days ago? You didn't seem to want to know."

"Things were different," said Hakoda, "At first… it was because I wanted to hear it from them. But after what happened two days ago, I realized that any one of us, including me, could die at any moment. If that's the case, I want to know how my children have changed, just in case."

Zuko thought about Hakoda's answer, and smiled lightly.

"Alright, where would you like me to start?" asked Zuko.

"Wait…" said Hakoda before going to the door, "Hey everyone! Zuko is going to tell the story of how he and my kids met!"

Suddenly, the loud shuffling of feet shook the air, and the building as nuns and warriors both sat by the door facing the young prince. Zuko wanted to take back what he said.

"An audience?" he blurted out.

"Well… everyone in the tribe is practically family and I'm sure the nuns just want to be entertained," answered Hakoda, "Now start from the beginning, and go from there."

Zuko was a little apprehensive at the audience. Aside from that, telling the story would be hard considering he was never really that great of story teller, but something told him that Hakoda just wanted the facts of each incident. He took a deep breathe, and cleared his throat.

"Well, it all started with this scuffle on a pier…"

The first story was what he called "The Scroll Incident." Zuko told Hakoda and the others how he saw the Avatar and Hakoda's kids at the pier and thought nothing of them at the time until he watched Katara try to bend the water, but was not very good at it. Then came the part where the pirates tried to capture her, and he intervened on her behalf ensuring her safety. He had told them the pirates were after her because she had stolen a waterbending scroll from them, and told them he didn't know why she did it, until Hakoda mentioned that Katara did not have a teacher in waterbending as a result of the raids, causing Zuko to be quiet for a while. He now understood why she did it. Still, he felt it was a very dangerous and stupid thing to do. He included the argument between him and the young waterbender, which earned a laugh from Hakoda, and an even bigger laugh was unleashed by everyone when Zuko said that he was captured shortly after the argument. He continued on with the story, and told them that Katara had returned, to try and bargain with his life with the stolen scroll. Surprisingly, Zuko told Hakoda that even though he found the act of kindness on Katara's part to be foolish, he mentioned that it was the bravest thing he had ever seen a young girl do. It was at that point when Zuko told them that in the same moment that he found out the Avatar was actually a young child, which raised Hakoda's concerns. After all, the idea of a young child looking after his kids unsettled him. Zuko continued on to the point where the bandits came and with quick thinking on Zuko's part, he managed to get them to turn on one another while he and the Avatar's group managed to escape by stealing the pirate's ship. When he told the water tribe men the argument that ensued afterward between him and Katara, some of the men rolled their eyes, but Hakoda smiled. He was once again proud that his girl had grown just like her mother.

The next part of the story was Jet and his plot to eradicate the town. He told them how he was escorting a Fire Nation elder to a village he was walking toward, and all of a sudden some boy named Jet and his gang ambushed them, and among them was Sokka. Zuko made sure to mention that Jet was completely nuts and that Sokka refused to attack a civilian, earning a glowing smile from Hakoda. He told them that they had separated ways afterward, and did not meet up with them until a day later. It was then that Sokka had told him about Jet's plan, and how he tricked Katara and the young Avatar into helping him with his evil plan. When Hakoda asked how Jet could have tricked his daughter, Zuko said that Sokka mentioned something about Jet taking advantage of Katara's feelings, and how he was using their mother's death as justification. Two strong warriors were ready to calm down Hakoda if need be. It was not necessary when Zuko concluded the story with how he and the elder vouched for Sokka when he warned the villagers, and they managed to save an entire village from certain destruction. Hakoda couldn't be more proud of his son, but asked what happened to Jet. Zuko mentioned that Sokka told him that Katara froze him to tree which got a nod of approval from the Water Tribe leader. Just as with Katara, Hakoda had nothing but praise for his son. He loved how Sokka had stood against something as cruel as attacking an old man, and admired his son's bravery as he risked his own life to warn a Fire Nation controlled village to avoid its destruction.

When Hakoda asked if there were any more stories, Zuko said there was a third encounter, but it didn't have Sokka and Katara per se. Still Hakoda wanted to hear, so Zuko went into the story regarding Aang's imprisonment. He told him how he saved Aang from a Fire Nation prison using his "other talents" and that he had indirectly saved Katara and Sokka from an illness that they somehow caught by freeing Aang. Hakoda sighed out of relief. He was initially concerned about his children's well-being traveling with the Avatar, a child, but when Zuko said the kid was pretty determined in getting the cure, his concerns were put to rest. Hakoda now that he knew his children were in good hands.

It was nightfall when he finished the story, everyone was enthralled. Hakoda and Bato were proud of Katara and Sokka for what they had undergone, and how they carried themselves. All doubts about Zuko were gone at this point, and were replaced with respect for the young man.

"My children have grown so much," said Hakoda between happy and sad, "They aren't how I remember them, but it has reminded me why I'm fighting in the first place. Thank you for telling this story."

"You're welcome."

"It's strange though," began Bato, "Considering how often you've helped them, I'm amazed they haven't asked you to join them. Why is that?"

Zuko looked away, and the reaction to Bato's question alarmed the warriors. Sensing the stares Zuko sighed.

"They did actually, after I freed Avatar Aang," began Zuko, "But they needed to know what kind of person they were asking to join and so… well…" He made a tiny flame in his hand to finish.

"You told them you were a firebender," finished Hakoda.

"I may have been a little more dramatic," said Zuko, "But yeah, I did. I also mentioned that I was a criminal, but then again all "traitors" are criminals in the eyes of the homeland. I also told them my _real_ name since I was also giving out my alias all the times I encountered them."

The last sentence rekindled Hakoda's earlier curiosity in how there was more to Zuko's name. However, he chose to drop it when he heard the tone in which he said the words "real name." Figuring it was probably upsetting for him, Hakoda believed that Zuko would tell them when he was ready to tell them, whenever that may be.

"It didn't exactly end well," continued Zuko, "I haven't seen them since."

"Well," began Hakoda, "They may have been in the right to be angry, but still to push you away after everything you did for them…"

"Sokka thought it was part of a mission," added Zuko, "It was a perfectly reasonable theory. I don't fault him for that. I chose to be honest with them, to let them know who I am, and if they don't accept it then that's fine."

Hakoda felt a little embarrassed on the part of his children for pushing the firebender away like that. However such were the consequences of war. Zuko said that he felt tired, and everyone else seemed to agree with this idea. Tomorrow was going to be a big day, and everyone had to get ready. They ate their dinners and went to sleep afterward.

**xXxXx**

It was dawn when Zuko woke up, and heard commotion outside. He turned and found Bato had also begun to stir in the futon that the nuns had let him sleep in. The door opened and Hakoda and Nava both walked in.

"Bato, Zuko I see you're both awake," began Hakoda and they both turned to him in response, "We've put your things in another wing of the abbey the nuns have set aside for you both."

"They're relocating us?" asked Bato.

"Yes with us out of the way, you'll be moved to the guest rooms. However, they're primarily moving Zuko. The idea of a _young_, injured man staying near the initiate's quarters did not sit well with the Superior. She thinks Zuko here is too _hot_ a commodity for the young girls," said Hakoda with a chuckle.

Bato cringed at Hakoda's humor, and Zuko looked horrified.

"Now, the two of you will be moving this afternoon," said Hakoda before facing Zuko, "And as for you son, there's something we, as in me and the other warriors think you deserve."

Hakoda pulled out a pendant, which was a sharp canine tooth on a string, and handed it over to Zuko. Bato chuckled at the puzzled expression on Zuko's face when he received the pendant.

"Be honored," he began, "The polar lion-bear tooth pendant is something the Southern Tribe hasn't given to an outsider in over three hundred years. Those who bare it are deemed by the tribe to be friends and allies. And as the bear protects its children, so will the tribe protect you."

"There's usually a whole ceremony that goes along with it, but we don't have the materials or the time to perform it," said Hakoda, "So here."

Hakoda extended it out for Zuko to reach.

"You'd give me this?" asked Zuko.

"Well, you helped my children, and defended my warriors when they were in danger. How can you tell me you didn't earn this?" asked Hakoda.

Zuko thought about Hakoda's words and realized he was right. He nodded, and received the pendant dangling before him.

"Thank you, Hakoda," said Zuko with a slight bow, "I promise I won't betray what you've given me."

Hakoda smiled.

"Don't thank just me. This was not my decision alone, but all my warriors' as well, especially Nava," said Hakoda.

Zuko looked at Nava who only gave him a nod of acknowledgement, which Zuko returned as well.

"Well, we have to go now. Bato, I'll be sending you a message as soon as we arrive in the Eastern Earth Kingdom, possibly a week to a week and a half from today. It will tell you where to meet up with us for our second evacuation run. I trust you'll be better by then," said Hakoda.

"Yes," said Bato, "The Superior said I should be well enough to move around by then if I keep following her instructions."

"Zuko, you rest and look after Bato while you're here," said Hakoda.

"I will sir," said Zuko.

Hakoda was about to walk away, when a grin crawled onto his face.

"Oh, and Zuko," he started, catching the young firebender's attention, "If my kids ever give you a hard time, show them that pendant. Trust me, their faces will be absolutely priceless."

Zuko blinked as Hakoda gave his final farewell, before he and his warriors left the two.

**Huzzah! This chapter was a killer to write.**

**Author's Notes:**

**This chapter is based off the episode, "The Storm." **

**Being an AU, there are going to be OCs, some more important than others. Nava is as about as important as Lt. Jee was in the series.**

**The polar lion-bear tooth pendant idea was one I came up with on my own. I don't know if real Native American peoples give animal teeth as gifts, so please avoid critiquing me on this.**

**Thank you for reading and please review.**


	7. Reunions Part 1

**Author's Notes: Two Chapters in one week. I'm in a good mood, since my semester ended. Now that I have a lot of free time, I got to work on this chapter for bit.**

**Well, here's the next chapter of the story. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender. It is the property of its creators and Nickelodeon.**

Chapter 7: Reunions Part 1

It had been two weeks when all of Zhao's staff had finished going through _most_ of the boxes containing evidence regarding the Avatar. They had plotted the areas the Avatar had been to, including the Fire Sage's temple, on a large map in the middle of the room in an attempt to figure out possible routes for interception. Going over it, Zhao realized that the boy had gone all over the place and there was no general purpose to the destinations he went to. After the winter solstice however, things became different. The destinations became more and more focused, and he realized the boy was heading north. But why?

'Why would a boy head…?' his mind began but stopped, 'Wait, a boy… a boy who could only airbend was heading north.'

There was only one place he would go, and Zhao smirked. The admiral now considered his failure to hold the Avatar to be a minor setback, and then, perhaps, a golden opportunity. Suddenly, a crate dropped onto the ground, causing everyone's head to snap up and see a soldier.

"What was that?" Zhao demanded, irritated that his internal gloating was interrupted.

The soldier stood up straight, and faced the admiral nervously.

"Th-The evidence f-f-from the Tie Dao shipyard," stammered the soldier.

Zhao looked at the documents all over the ground.

"Why is it on the ground?" asked Zhao suddenly in a calm tone of voice as he approached the soldier.

"B-Because… I am clumsy?" he answered sheepishly.

"Ah, an honest answer… NOW PICK IT UP!" he shouted as flames coated his hands.

The soldier immediately did as he was ordered, and shuffled through the papers and organized them into a neat stack. It was then that something shiny caught the admiral's eyes.

"Stop," he ordered, and the soldier looked up, "Pick that up," he ordered, and the soldier obeyed.

Zhao beheld a necklace. It had a blue ribbon, and an ivory pendant with waves carved on it. The ribbon was worn, but the clasp and the pendant were well taken care of and glimmered as though they were brand new.

"This is evidence?" asked Zhao.

"Y-Yes sir," said the soldier, "The warden said that a Water Tribe girl who riled the earthbenders into rioting wore it."

"Water Tribe girl…" thought Zhao before remembering a girl he chained to one of the pillars in the Fire Sage's temple while the Avatar was present, "She must have dropped it before our little encounter… no matter, it's of no concern to me, get rid of it."

The soldier was about to when Colonel Shinu entered the room.

"Forgive the interruption Admiral, but you have a message," said the colonel.

"Not now, I believe we had a breakthrough in the hunt for the Avatar," said Zhao.

"Forgive me Admiral, but this is for your eyes only," said the colonel holding an unopened red scroll.

Zhao turned around in irritation, but immediately stopped as he faced the scroll.

"It came from a Hei Ying?" asked the admiral, clearly interested.

Shinu simply nodded.

In the military, red scrolls from black messenger hawks meant it was a top secret document that demanded the punishment of death be given to _anyone_ unauthorized to read it. The scroll was made from a very thin film of paper that required a special pen and ink for it's messages, and when it was rolled up into a scroll, the knot of the delicate ribbon that held it together was waxed and stamped with a special seal, whose maker lived directly in the royal palace to ensure its authority, authenticity, and to make sure it was never duplicated..

"Everyone is dismissed!" he barked, and the soldiers scrambled as they got out of the room.

As they did, Zhao snatched the missive from the colonel who promptly left as well. Zhao read it. It was an incident that occurred somewhere along the western coast of the Earth Kingdom that resulted in injured sailors and soldiers under the vice-admiral's command. It was nothing special until he read the description of the perpetrator. His eyes widened greatly, and his heart rate sped up.

"One of the tiger-wolf's allies is still alive?" he said to himself.

**xXxXx**

Aang and the others were walking on the road, letting Appa take a break from flying for the day. As they did, Aang was thinking about Zuko. When they were in Aunt Wu's village, and the volcano went off, Aang was thinking about how close a call it was when they saved the village from the rolling molten hill of magma. He had begun to wonder how much easier it would have been if they had a firebender with them, but didn't have the heart to voice the opinion to the others. Sokka and Katara were upset about the subject of Zuko, but after the volcano eruption, they never mentioned it.

It had been a week since they were at Aunt Wu's and Aang, thinking it was a good time to bring it up, opened his mouth. However, before he could, he saw something off to the side down a hill. Aang immediately ran toward it, catching both Sokka and Katara's attention.

"Aang!" shouted Sokka as he went after him, followed by Katara.

Sokka, in his attempt to catch up to Aang, saw what looked like a Water Tribe weapon stuck in the ground. Aang was the first one to get there, and got a good look at it.

"Hey look a sword made out of a whale's tooth," said Aang after picking it up.

"Let me see that," said Sokka grabbing the sword after he caught up.

Sokka remembered the older men of his tribe preparing to leave for war, and he himself deciding to go with them. Seeing a chance that his father may be nearby, his heart sped up in excitement.

"This is a Water Tribe weapon," he said still staring at the weapon before looking at Aang, "See if you can find anything else."

Sokka and Aang split up looking through the bushes, when Katara caught up with them. She was wondering why they were searching through the bushes, and cleared her throat slightly.

"Did someone lose something?" she asked while still observing the sight.

"No, we found something," replied Aang excitedly.

Sokka found something further down the hill, and discovered it was an arrow. He looked at the arrow head, and saw it was made of bone and burnt by a jet of fire. He then looked to a tree and saw scorch marks all over it.

"There was battle," he voiced as he stroked the burnt wood, "Water Tribe warriors ambushed a group of firebenders. The firebenders fought back, but the warriors drove them down this hill.

Sokka ran down after the trail, looking at the faint imprints of boots, and burn marks across the scorched earth and forest. His ran past the rocks at the beach, and saw similar signs of battle. The sand was burnt, and there were dried patches of blood somewhat cooked. It was then that Aang and Katara caught up, but Sokka just stared off into the sea.

"So then what happened?" asked Aang.

"I don't know the trail ends here," said Sokka disappointed and disheartened.

Katara was about to console her brother when she looked off to the side, and saw something she hadn't seen in two years.

"Wait! Look!" she shouted while pointing.

The two boys saw a Water Tribe ship beached, and the three kids ran toward it with much enthusiasm.

"It's one of our boats!" shouted Sokka as the approached the vessel. It was empty, but still serviceable, and it looked as though it wasn't beached for very long.

"Is this dad's boat?" asked Katara with a voice that was laced with hope.

"No," said Sokka, "but it's from his fleet; dad was here."

The two smiled at one another while Aang still looked at the boat.

"This is great," began Katara, "If dad was here, then we can't be too far behind him right?"

"Yeah," agreed Sokka before looking sad, "Maybe."

"Let's set up camp here," suggested Katara, sensing Sokka's disappointment.

The thought of staying near something that reminded them both of home helped to lift up Sokka's spirits, and he smiled.

"Ok," said Sokka.

"Are you sure?" asked Aang, "I mean we usually camp near the woods, you know for protection."

"No, we're camping here," snapped Sokka.

Aang was taken aback. Weeks of traveling with Sokka made Aang a little bit more aware of his surroundings while camping, and this decision was unlike Sokka. Even if it was for the purpose of being near something that reminded him of home, Sokka was never one to jeopardize the group, and camping in such an open space was very risky. Still he began to go along with the Water Tribe sibling's suggestion, and the three set up camp.

**xXxXx**

Bato finished his morning meal when he heard the recognizable sounds of a young man in training. He left the room the two were sharing, and saw his roommate going through various firebending forms, none of which were familiar to Bato. The forms were aggressive like all firebending he had seen, but they were not the brutalized military versions used by common soldiers. His was graceful and fluid, but sharp and fast.

"Zuko!" shouted Bato.

Zuko froze midway in a form, and turned his head to see Bato standing with an amused look on his face.

"I see you've recovered well," said Bato seeing Zuko maintaining his balance; something that would have been impossible if he was still injured.

It had been a week and a half since Hakoda left the two injured men, and they had bonded considerably. Zuko was no longer referring to Bato as "sir" and Bato began to treat Zuko as though he were Sokka or any of the younger warriors of the tribe. All formalities were tossed out of the way, which was hard at first for Zuko, being trained to be polite constantly both as a prince then a soldier. However, Zuko eventually welcomed the change and the chance to be looser around people.

"How about you?" asked Zuko as he relaxed, and stood at ease.

"Well I can walk fine, and I think I use a club now," said Bato while exercising his arm.

Both men's injuries were recovered well enough to the point where they could do things on their own now. Zuko, being younger, recovered faster than Bato, and was free to leave anytime he wanted. Bato on the other hand was not entirely up to speed, but believed he was strong enough to fight if he had to. He however couldn't leave until he got the message from Hakoda. With this in mind, Zuko never left. He promised Hakoda he would look after Bato, and would not leave until Bato got the word on where to go.

"Well that's good," said Zuko.

The wind began to pick up somewhat, and Bato shivered a little.

"I think being away from the South Pole's weakened my tolerance for the cold," said Bato.

Zuko felt the wind too. It was too strong for him to practice, unless he was willing to burn down the abbey.

"I think I'll walk around outside today," said Zuko.

"Alright, well be careful; there may be more of those boarcupines out there," said Bato, "Tonight's the usual meal. I'll keep it as hot as I can."

Zuko nodded with a smile and left the abbey to go somewhere else. Bato looked on as the boy left, and felt the Superior creep up on him.

"Not bad for someone from the Fire Nation," she thought out loud.

"I agree," said Bato, "He has a noble air about him. It makes you wonder if his people were like that before the war. And if that's the case, what happened?"

"Mmm…" mumbled the Superior, not really having an answer to that question, "Now then, you get some rest. We don't want your newly recovered strength to die away so soon now do we?"

Bato did as the Superior ordered him to do, and went back inside to rest. Bato decided it would be a good opportunity to see what things he needed to pack for when Hakoda told him where to go and when. He went over his things, and realized he couldn't bring everything he had with him. He would miss some of the items in the guestroom since it reminded him of home. Oddly enough, Zuko didn't mind the Water Tribe decorations when he first moved in with Bato saying that it looked comfortable considering he slept on dirt, wet or hard depending on the seasons, and the only decorations he had seen were trees. Maybe Zuko would like a few things…

It had been several hours since Zuko left to train, and Bato had finished eating his share of stewed sea prunes. Zuko hadn't come back yet, but it wasn't uncommon for the young man to be out in the late hours of the night, so he wasn't too concerned. He looked out of the window, and noticed it was a really nice evening.

'Maybe I should get out too,' thought Bato.

He opened the door, and the nuns working on the perfumes. He told the Superior that he would walk outside for a while, and come back in a moment. The elderly nun nodded in agreement, and Bato left the abbey, unaware of who he was going to meet that night.

**xXxXx**

It was nightfall and both Aang and Katara were asleep by the boat from Hakoda's fleet of ships. The only one who was still awake was Sokka. The young warrior sat by the fire as memories from his past rose up. He yearned to be with his dad, and was frustrated that they had probably just missed him by a week. He stared into the fire as he remembered the day they left for the war…

_A thirteen year old Sokka was holding a bundle of supplies and a sleeping bag as he tried to catch up to the men. Hakoda saw his son trudging through the snow after he gave some supplies to one of his comrades. He sighed inwardly, and approached his son. Sokka sped up in hopes of the getting to the boat before his father told him not to come. Before he could though, his father stopped him._

"_Sokka…" he began, softly but with a hint of sternness._

"_I'm coming with you," said Sokka as though it would seal the deal instantly._

"_You're not old enough to go to war Sokka, you know that," said Hakoda._

_I'm strong, I'm brave, I can fight," reasoned Sokka desperately, "Please dad?"_

_Hakoda took a deep breathe. _

"_Being a man is knowing where you're needed the most, and for you right now, that's here protecting your sister," he explained to his son as tears welled up in his eyes._

"_I don't understand," answered Sokka in confusion._

"_Some day you will," said Hakoda. Sokka took it as a no, and dropped his things and jumped to his father to hug him, "I'm going to miss you so much."_

Sokka sighed at the memory when he heard the sand on the beach crumbling. He immediately got into a stance and drew out his boomerang.

"Who's there?" he demanded.

The figure emerged from the shadows, "Sokka?"

The clothes were Water Tribe, the hair was Water Tribe, the face and eyes and voice were… "Bato?"

Aang instantly woke up at the sound of Sokka's voice going up and cracking.

"Who the what now?" he blurted.

Katara got on her hands, and rubbed her eyes before looking at the man Sokka was staring at.

"Bato!" she said in a mix of joy and relief.

The two siblings ran up to Bato, to give him a hug.

"Sokka, Katara, it is so good to see you," he said as he took the two teens in his arms. He chuckled as he remembered Zuko's stories, "You _have_ grown so much."

The two did not hear how he emphasized the word "have," instead they looked up to him with loads of questions in their eyes and minds.

"Hi I'm Aang," introduced the young Avatar, but he was brushed aside by Sokka's question.

"Where's dad?" asked Sokka eagerly.

"Is he here?" asked Katara in equal excitement.

"No, he and the other warriors should be in the eastern Earth Kingdom by now," said Bato calmly.

The two Water Tribe siblings were disappointed by Bato's answer. They looked to each other when a cold breeze blew through the area. They scrunched up their arms to hold the warmth still in their bodies, and Bato did the same.

"This is no place for a reunion," said the older man as he shivered, "Let's get inside."

Bato took the two kids who he treated as his niece and nephew in his arms, and motioned for Aang to follow him, acknowledging his presence. As they went to the abbey, Bato debated whether or not to mention Zuko's presence. He wanted to mention him, but he decided to catch up with the kids of his best friend first and to hear their take on the their adventures.

"Bato, you're injured!" exclaimed Katara as she saw the bandages.

The older man looked at the young girl, before going to his wounds.

"Yes, well we fought some Fire Nation soldiers almost two weeks ago. They were infiltrators trying to take over the province," explained Bato, "We only encountered one group, but we informed the nearest garrison. Over the days we realized that there was a whole army of them. They got in real deep too, but we stopped them before they could execute their plan."

"Wow, so you guys were the ones who fought in the forest?" asked Sokka.

"I take it you saw the signs of the battle," said Bato who got an enthusiastic nod from Sokka, "You're tracking skills have improved considerably since the last time I saw them."

Sokka grinned with pride.

"So, who's been taking care of you," asked Katara.

"Well," said Bato, as the reached the steps that led up to the abbey, "The people in that building.

Bato pointed up to the abbey, and they all continued onward. When they arrived, Bato introduced the kids to his caretakers, and Sokka tried to crack a joke regarding Appa when he learned the nuns made perfume. For a moment Bato thought that Hakoda should have made the joke, but then realized there wouldn't be much of a difference. He showed them to the room he had been staying in, and the Sokka and Katara immediately felt at home, though Aang and Momo were uncomfortable with all the dead animal pelts. Bato let Sokka and Katara have their fill of the sea prunes, and Sokka and Katara began to catch up. Again, Aang was feeling left out, and took a quick nap to wake up and hear…

"There's something I should tell you kids, I'm expecting a message from your father," mentioned Bato.

"Really?" asked Sokka.

"When?" asked Katara.

"Any day now," replied Bato, "Your father said he'd send a message when they found the rendezvous point. If you wait here until the message arrives, you can come with me and see your father again."

"It's been over two years since we've seen dad, that would be so incredible," said Sokka excitedly before turning to his sister, "Katara."

"I do really miss him, it would be great to see dad," she replied.

"It's been far too long hasn't it…?" muttered Hakoda

Aang left, distraught at the change of events and again, no one noticed him.

**xXxXx**

Zuko dashed back to the abbey. The walk he was taking turned into a training session when he found a big enough space to practice. He did not apply fire to the forms; it wasn't that he couldn't, but rather he wanted his body and his mind to remember the forms before he applied fire to it. That and the wind was still pretty strong. After hours of training, he chose to take a break, but the quick break he decided to take while catching his breath turned into a five hour nap.

Zuko kept running, and when he saw the abbey in the distance, he picked up speed.

…

"Hey everyone, sorry I was gone so long," said Aang as he reentered the guest wing of the abbey.

Katara turned around to see her friend.

"Hey Aang, I didn't notice you left," said Katara.

"Yup, but now I'm back," he said as he approached the circle, and he began to stroke his chin, "Sure could go for some… delicious sea prunes."

Aang took a bite, and coughed up some before snapping his mouth shut and made yummy sounds. It was blatantly obvious to Bato, and Katara that something bothered Aang. Even Sokka was not that dense, and he eyed Aang weirdly.

…

Zuko entered the abbey gates breathing hard.

"Ah, Zuko glad to see you've arrived," said the Superior with a bucket of water.

It was the same for three days. Zuko trained, went off for a day, and came back tired and thirsty. Zuko gently grabbed the bucket from the superior before drinking the refreshing liquid like a camel.

"Bato is expecting you," said the Superior with a sneaky smile on her face.

Zuko was too tired to notice, and he thanked the Superior for letting him know. He went off, not hearing the chuckles from Haixiu and the other women. He was tired and hungry and he didn't care if he was eating sea prunes again. He liked them, but he was not sure he could eat them everyday.

He opened the door quickly.

"You wanted to see me Ba-" Zuko froze.

Any fatigue he felt was gone. Any appetite he had was lost.

Aang's group looked shocked, scared, and well… surprised.

"YOU!" they yelled at each other.

"Ah… Zuko, glad you could join us," said Bato, stifling his laughter.

**xXxXx**

In a shady tavern in the Earth Kingdom, a man in a black cloak appeared. He walked up to the door and opened it. Immediately a wave of cheers, jeers, and unknown profanities sang throughout the establishment.

"Drinks on me!" shouted a woman in a black dress.

Cheers and shouts of approval roared throughout the building, and the barmaids began pouring the booze from the taps. The golden drinks poured like cascades, and the deceptively disgusting smell of alcohol thickened the air to provide a soothing atmosphere.

The man walked up to the woman, as she sat down. Before she could drink, the man in the cloak stopped the cup from reaching her black-painted lips.

"Hey, what's your prob-" she began before a glimmer of fear shone in her eyes.

"You've been a very naughty girl lately, haven't you," stated Zhao with a suave sneer.

"I knew I shouldn't have gone on that ship," the woman cursed.

"Well, that's water under the bridge," said Zhao before turning serious, "I have a business proposal for you June… _Former_ Lieutenant of the Auxiliary Divisions."

**A short chapter and a cliffhanger. Some of you are probably thinking "Er… WHAT? Lieutenant… of the WHAT?"**

**It plays a part later in the story.**

**Author's Notes:**

**Hei Ying: Chinese for "black hawk"**

**I worked on this chapter for a bit, but I haven't been able to finish it because of Assassin's Creed Brotherhood (Awesome Game) and Finals (BOO!). As a result part of the dialogue after Bato tells Sokka and Katara about the rendezvous point might be a little off when I finished. Sorry about that.**

**Thank you for reading and please review. But more importantly, have a nice holiday everyone.**


	8. Reunions Part 2

**Hello, I'm sorry this chapter is late. My excuse is thus: video and computer games, holiday laziness, and incredibly high standards for my stories.**

**Now, I decided to do some background information for this story, and they way I'll write them is an experiment. Hopefully it'll work; see notes at the end for more details.**

**Anyway, we left off at June, so you must be excited to know what her story is now, so I'll just go into the chapter. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender. It is the property of its creators and Nickelodeon.**

Chapter 8: Reunions Part 2

_**The Fire Nation's Auxiliary Divisions, more commonly referred to as the Colonial Army, were created by crown prince Lu Ten in the later period of the war, and were his legacy. They comprised of five divisions: the 11**__**th**__**, 21**__**st**__**, 31**__**st**__**, 41**__**st**__**, and 52**__**nd**__**. Controversy and scandal surrounded the army, but the main topic of all slander was the nature of the forces: the use of Earth Kingdom citizens within the empire in addition to Fire Nation citizens from the colony. **_

_**Why, and more importantly how, Lu Ten was given permission to form such an army remains a mystery to many. **_

_**Many generals, including the crown prince's own father, the Dragon of the West, were initially skeptical about the effectiveness and trustworthiness of the army. However when reports of the Earth soldiers had proved effective in combat, and followed Lu Ten's orders without question those doubts were silenced. Their hardy attitude kept them in the fight longer than other soldiers, and their bending saved many lives. Many traditionalists declared to Fire Lord Azulon that it would only be a matter of time before they betrayed the Fire Nation, but the Fire Lord was so satisfied with the results his favored grandson had produced that he was willing to turn a blind eye.**_

_**After the failed siege of Ba Sing Se and the crowning of Fire Lord Ozai however, they fell into disfavor, and were even accused of betraying Lu Ten during the siege. They were stripped of their honor, and many of its soldiers were either executed or sent to labor camps. The soldiers and officers who were spared the punishment of the new Fire Lord banded together to form a single division, and were used as fodder in numerous campaigns in an attempt to wipe them out from existence. Ironically, it only bolstered their fame since the most talented officers of the divisions were among the survivors of the purges, and produced stunning and brilliant victories with the severe lack of resources at their disposal. These victories, coupled with their previous achievements, made the Auxiliary Divisions the most famous army ever produced during the war, respected by both their enemies and allies.**_

_**Ultimately, however, the once illustrious army was annihilated at the Battle of the Uragiri Plains three years after Ba Sing Se. At least, that's what the official records say.**_

…

Outside the tavern, were twenty dragoons riding mongoose-dragons. When Zhao realized that the person mentioned in the scroll from the vice-admiral was June, the famed tracker of the Fire Nation's 21st Auxiliary Division, he knew he needed to have mounted aid. So Zhao ordered Shinu to give him use of a squad Fire Nation Dragoons, the elite cavalry unit that rivaled the Rough Rhinos.

Unlike the Rough Rhinos, the dragoons were light cavalry that emphasized speed more than power, and unlike the Rough Rhinos, the dragoons were also skilled in infantry tactics giving them the flexibility that the Rhinos lacked. In addition to serving as escorts for supply lines and shock cavalry forces in battles, the balance of infantry and cavalry tactics made the dragoons ideal for special ops missions. A small party of dragoons could easily slip deep behind enemy lines and cause mayhem where the Earth Kingdom least expected it, and get back to Fire Nation territory before the Earth Kingdom knew what was happening and react.

The dragoons were told by Zhao that they were to aid in a top secret mission that required their absolute silence, indicating the sensitivity of the mission. They followed Zhao to a tavern and they waited outside sitting on their mounts, waiting for the Admiral to return. They had been told they would be looking for the Avatar with him, and that they would be aided by a tracker. Shortly after Zhao entered the tavern, there was some squabbling and a burst of flame went through the window. Some of the dragoons looked at one another before the tavern door opened and Zhao came out with the woman in tow. June was struggling somewhat, but that stopped when the dragoons assembled in formation.

"If you're going to kill me, then do it now," she snarled at Zhao.

"Now, now June, like I said I have a business proposal, and you're the one I need for the job."

"Excuse me?" she asked, keeping her emotions under control. June did not know how to feel; afraid for her life, or confused by Zhao's sudden proposal of business.

"You're a bounty hunter now," said Zhao, "If that's the case, then you should have no problem serving the Fire Nation military."

The woman snorted.

"I would, but the thing is, you people tend to double cross those serving you," said June.

"I am ignoring the fact that you are alive, but if you refuse to cooperate then I may just suddenly remember," said Zhao brushing away June's rebuttal, "Are you interested, or not?"

June eyed Zhao warily. She knew he couldn't be trusted, but her secret was out.

Her last job was to track down a defector from the Earth Kingdom who knew very sensitive information regarding a province in the west. Apparently, the man gave the Fire Navy and Army weak points in the province's borders for infiltration. The plan however was prevented by Water Tribe warriors and the Earth Kingdom army stationed in the province, and an investigation was launched. Before the man could be discovered, he fled.

June had tracked the man as requested by the Earth Kingdom, and discovered he was on a Fire Nation supply ship. She cursed at the turn of events, but decided to get him anyway. After all, she was hired for a job, and she had to complete it. It would have been bad business to turn away, but more importantly it may have alerted the Earth Kingdom to her previous allegiances, giving her no place to hide safely.

Then again, serving the Fire Nation again was just as much a death sentence. Her existence contradicted all official reports, and now that the Fire Nation knew she was alive, she would be killed sooner or later.

After some thought, she decided to go with later. Later gave her time; time to plan a reasonable getaway for when Zhao would no longer have a use for her.

"Fine, I'll do it," said June, "But if it's something so big that the Admiral of the Navy is asking me to do it, my payment will be one of my choosing."

"Very well," said Zhao.

June was not fooled into thinking that Zhao would hold up his end of the bargain. After all, he was a traditionalist who despised the idea of the Auxiliary Divisions. She would rather trust her life with the Earth Kingdom's lowest scum rather than Zhao. However, in keeping with her plan, June controlled herself, and gave a nonchalant sigh to indicate her ignorant compliance.

"Who am I looking for?" she asked.

Zhao held up a blue necklace. When he read in the report that June was alive, he stopped the soldier holding the necklace, and got it from him, knowing that necklace was the key to finding the Avatar.

"What happened? Looking for an old flame?" she asked rudely.

"It's not the girl I'm interested in; it's the little bald boy she's traveling with," said Zhao.

"Little bald boy? That's disgusting even for you," she snickered.

Zhao started to see red, but stopped when June whistled to the forest. A rumbling came from the woods, and before long, a large animal with razor sharp teeth and nine-inch claws quickly and violently emerged. It was the even more aggressive cousin of the badgermole, the shirshrew. It appeared blind in terms of eyesight, but it seemed to move around the area with ease using its nose. The area reeked of Fire Nation soldiers and the creature let out a ferocious snarl before hissing and letting its barbed tongue hang out as a threat. The dragoons backed away as the creature did so, ready to fire if they had to, until June calmed the creature down.

"It's ok Nyla. It'll be alright," she cooed to the ferocious animal.

The shirshrew calmed down somewhat, and June grabbed the necklace from Zhao. She let Nyla get a whiff, and the creature began to sift through the scents all around her. When Nyla got the smell, June hopped on and turned to Zhao and the dragoons.

"Try not to slow me down!" she yelled before taking off.

Zhao and his soldiers promptly followed, and the search was on.

**xXxXx**

"Ah… Zuko, glad you could join us," said Bato, stifling his laughter.

Sokka and Katara both turned to Bato.

"You know _him_?" the said to him as they pointed to Zuko.

"Of course," said Bato casually, "And before you ask, yes I know he's from the Fire Nation, and a firebender."

Sokka and Katara were now more confused than ever. Bato knew who and what Zuko was, but he still let him stay.

"You see, Zuko here saved my life," began Bato, getting everyone's attention.

He explained to them the events that transpired during and after the battle. Bato noted how Zuko fought against his own people to save him, how he had acted honorably in the custody of Hakoda, and how he had once again saved the life of one of the tribesmen despite the bad treatment he got from him.

"He did all that?" asked Sokka stunned.

"Yes, and Zuko earned the trust of Hakoda and rest of the men. He even gave him something as proof. Show them Zuko," said Bato.

Zuko rubbed the back of his head, and pulled out the pendant Hakoda gave him from his pocket. He presented it to group, but Sokka and Aang had no idea what it was.

"A tooth?" asked Sokka.

"Not a tooth," snapped Katara, "That's a polar lion-bear fang. Gran Gran told me all about them when we were growing up."

"When?" demanded Sokka, sounding like it was the first time he had ever heard of the thing.

"Maybe if you listened to the old stories instead of playing warrior all the time, you would know what it means. It's something that is given by the chief to a person with the approval of ten or more warriors. It declares the bearer a friend of the water tribes for as long as he lives or if he does something to betray that trust. Honestly Sokka, if you really want to be chief in the future you need to know this stuff."

"So, did dad really give that to him Bato?" asked Sokka.

"Of course," replied Bato, "It was a unanimous vote."

"Wow that's amazing," said Aang.

"It was an honor," said Zuko quietly before clearing his throat, "Well then, seeing as how this is sort of a reunion for you Bato, I'll leave you to catch up."

"Nonsense, you must be starving after all the training you must have been doing," said Bato as Zuko was about to leave.

"Oh, I'm really not that-" his stomach growled in protest, "…hungry."

"You were saying?" said Bato, "Come now its sea prunes."

Zuko sighed somewhat, "Haven't you ever heard that too much of a good thing is bad?"

Bato laughed, "There's no such thing as too much sea prunes!"

Zuko walked over to the group and sat right between Bato and the gang, and got a helping of the Water Tribe dish. The meal was eaten in an awkward silence for the most part. Bato would occasionally try to have a conversation with Sokka and Katara, but the two siblings gave shorter answers or statements and were not as enthused as they had been moments earlier. When the meal was done, everyone but Zuko went to sleep.

Zuko opted to go outside for some air; being in a room with Aang and his friends made him incredibly nervous, and uneasy. After walking a lap around the courtyard to loosen himself up, he leaned against the courtyard wall and stared at the ground.

'Should I leave soon?' he asked himself.

The dinner had been tense, which meant that Aang and his friends must have still felt a little uneasy about his presence. Well maybe not Aang, but Katara and Sokka, definitely.

Bato was feeling much better so he could leave if he really wanted to. Bato wouldn't mind, he had told him he could leave anytime he wished. But then a part of him still felt guilty about leaving Bato before he got Hakoda's message, so maybe he should stay and…

"Ahem."

Zuko shot up, and looked to see who was speaking to him.

It was Bato.

"Oh, um what are you doing up?" asked Zuko after calming down.

"I noticed you didn't go to sleep," he replied before leaning against the wall with Zuko, "Then again, considering how interesting dinner was, I guess you couldn't really sleep."

"They still hate me," said Zuko.

"Who, Sokka and Katara?" asked Bato earning a sigh from the firebender, "Well you shouldn't be too surprised. After all they grew up with stories of evil Fire Nation sailors raiding Water Tribe villages. In fact our village was also raided."

"I see," said Zuko.

Bato looked at the younger man. He knew Zuko knew what had happened, what kinds of things a soldier could do during a war.

"Have you ever… raided a village?" asked Bato.

"No…" answered Zuko, "My general had standards, saying that we were professional soldiers not bandits."

Bato raised an eyebrow.

"That's unheard of these days, I know. A Fire Nation general with honor, but there were a few in the past. Well mine was one of the last. Now there's only one left, and he's 'retired…" said Zuko, "Do you think they'll ever stop hating me?

Bato was surprised by the sudden change of subject, but indulged Zuko. He remembered from the story of his encounters with Aang, Sokka, and Katara that of all the people that were suspicious of him, the two siblings were the most leery of him. He thought for a bit before he gave the young man an answer.

"Hate is a pretty strong word; I'd rather go with wary," said Bato, "And to answer your question, you managed to get Hakoda to trust you. That's a pretty big step for someone from the Fire Nation. I'm sure sooner, or later, Sokka and Katara will come around."

Zuko smiled a bit, and Bato gave him a nudge.

"Come on, let's get some sleep. Who knows, tomorrow may be the day I get the word from Hakoda," said Bato before heading in.

Zuko followed the older warrior after taking a deep breath. He too had feelings about tomorrow, and they had unsettled him.

**xXxXx**

June was riding Nyla very quickly through the woods. Zhao was following not too far with the cavalry force from colonel Shinu's fortress. They had recently passed through a temple complex, and then a healer's hut. The kid Zhao was looking for wasn't there, but Nyla was getting anxious. June knew she was closing in, and possibly, running out of time.

**xXxXx**

Aang was feeding Appa early in the morning, when the note and map from Katara and Sokka's father fell out of his sleeve. He was about to get it when the Superior got it first.

"You should be ashamed of yourself…"

Aang shifted nervously.

"Littering in the courtyard is strictly forbidden."

Aang's eyes widened a bit, and apologized before he slipped the paper back in his robes, and sighed before feeding Appa again.

"That was too close?" mumbled Aang in relief.

"What was?"

Aang jumped, whirled around and got into a stance. It was Zuko, with a look of surprise on his face.

"Zuko… what-how long were you there?" he said in a nervous voice.

"Uh… not long," was his reply, "Anyway, I overhead Sokka complaining how he can't eat without you so..."

"Oh ok," said Aang before walking quickly away.

"Aang… are you ok?" asked Zuko.

Aang froze in mid-step before facing the firebender, "OfcourseI'mfine! Whywouldn'tIbefine! IhearSokkacallinggottago!"

Zuko saw Aang zip away as he registered what the boy just said.

"O-kay… that kid is definitely weird."

Zuko walked back to courtyard when he noticed Katara looking at the abbey really strangely.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

Katara faced him, surprised that he was standing behind her.

"Zuko! D-Don't scare me like that," she asked.

"Sorry," was Zuko's reply, "Anyway, why are you out here, I figured you would be inside with your brother eating."

"I was looking for Aang to tell him that breakfast is ready," Katara took a deep breath, "And also… there's something I wanted to tell you…"

"…Oh."

Katara looked away from him with an expression bordering conflict and relief. She began to twiddle her fingers, and took a deep breath before facing him again.

"I… I wanted to say thank you for saving Bato," she said to him, "He means a lot to me and Sokka. He's like an uncle to us."

"An uncle… I see," said Zuko sadly.

"…Do you have an uncle?" she asked, sensing the feelings Zuko felt to the word.

"I do, but he probably thinks I'm dead," he replied evenly.

"Oh… I'm sorry," she said sincerely

"Don't be, Katara, it's probably for the best," he said in a depressed voice.

Katara's eye bulged at the statement.

"How is thinking you're dead for the best?" she demanded in a shocked voice.

"I already told you guys, I'm a traitor to the Fire Nation. I couldn't go back home even _if_ I wanted to. And on top of that, if I sent a message to him it could get intercepted or he would want to meet me. That could endanger both of us… it's complicated to fully explain," he answered before dismissing the whole conversation, "Come on, we should get going. I'm starting to get hungry."

Katara looked at the boy sadly. She couldn't imagine not being able to go home to the South Pole and see her family, but for Zuko that situation was a reality.

'He must feel so alone,' she thought.

She remembered Zuko trying to explain his position in the Fire Nation when he first revealed himself to be Fire Nation. At the time, she didn't believe it, but now however, she wasn't so sure in her initial thoughts. After all, her father trusted him enough to give one of the Water Tribe's greatest gifts to a foreigner to him, a person who happened to be from the nation they were at war with, and Hakoda was renowned for his excellent judge of character. Not to mention, he and Bato seemed to be very good friends. There was so much she didn't know about the boy, but something about him made the men of her tribe trust him. Maybe Bato would be able to shed some light when Zuko wasn't around.

"Katara?"

She snapped out of her quietness, and saw Zuko standing in front of her.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yeah, we should go," said Katara, "Zuko…" he faced her, "I really am sorry about your uncle and all."

Zuko looked away, "Thank you… and Katara, about Bato…" she looked at him, "You're welcome."

Katara stared at Zuko as he walked past her to the abbey. She noticed the way he walked, how a bit more at ease it was than before, and wondered if she had made him feel relieved. The more she thought about the idea that she had somehow relieved him the more it felt good to her, and she smiled. She followed Zuko back to the abbey where everyone was sitting patiently.

When they sat down, the four started to dig in. Bato and Sokka were eating sea prunes, but Bato seemed to have caught on to Aang's dislike of sea prunes and asked the nuns to prepare something for the child. Katara sat down and got some of the prunes, and Zuko did the same. Midway through breakfast, Bato cleared his throat to get the attention of the four.

"So Zuko, what will you be doing today?" asked Bato.

Everyone looked him, and he swallowed his food.

"Training away from the abbey," said Zuko, "I found a rock quarry the other day, and thought I'd train there to see how powerful my bending is."

"Well, that's good," said Bato, "I think I'll take everyone to beach."

"Th-The beach?" asked Aang.

"What's the matter, scared of water?" teased Sokka.

"No, I'm not scared of anything," replied Aang somewhat quickly.

Zuko raised an eyebrow to Aang's quick answer, but paid it no mind as he and the other's finished their breakfast. After the meal, Bato and the others headed down to the beach, while Zuko went northward to the rock quarry to train. Both parties agreed to meet back at around noon for lunch.

While going down the road, Katara remembered her curiosity, and cleared her throat.

"Bato?" she began, "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course," answered Bato, "What would you like to know?"

"About Zuko…" she trailed off when she saw Sokka and Aang's reactions, "…I'd like to know a little bit more about him."

Bato stopped walking, and the kids did so in kind.

"I'm afraid I can't help there," said Bato, "I don't really know much about the lad."

Katara gawked at Bato, but Aang spoke up first.

"How come, I mean you two are friends right?" he asked. Aang too wanted to know more about Zuko.

Aang still felt drawn to the firebender because of the vision he had after his rescue.

"We are friends, but he never talks about his past, or his family. The most we talk about is our experiences fighting in the war," explained Bato.

"He fought in the war?" Sokka piped up, "How old was he?"

"From what I heard, he was thirteen when he fought his first major battle," said Bato. The man noticed Sokka about to say something along the lines of 'No Fair' and simply put a hand on his shoulder, "You are quite lucky to have been spared the experience of war Sokka."

"Huh?"

Bato sighed, "He may not look it, but the war… it's left a mark on him. I asked him once if the war in the Earth Kingdom was as bad as we heard it was from our allies. All Zuko would say was that he had seen horrors that I could not imagine, and he fought fewer battles than me."

The three kids were staring at Bato, who soon sensed the stares and coughed to get their attention.

"Well now, come on. We're losing daylight," he said before continuing onward to the beach followed shortly by the gang.

**xXxXx**

June realized that she and her "employers" were heading to the coast of the same western province that the defector was collaborating with the Fire Nation to capture. Their last checkpoint had been a village near a volcano, and it turned out that whoever had the necklace spent quite a bit of time in the fortune teller's house.

However, something was troubling her that she could not figure out.

Just before they left the village to follow the trail of the scent, the fortune teller had mentioned that she would be repaid in full later in the day.

It sounded like a good omen, which was strange for June to think since she never believed in omens. However, considering how the day was turning out the idea of a good omen was welcome.

**xXxXx**

It was close to noon when Zuko got back to the abbey from the training quarry. He was pleased that his bending was coming back to him, but fatigue from the training and the set deadline brought him back to the abbey. When he entered the door, he noticed Aang looking depressed and lonely. Zuko wondered what happened, and when he saw Bato, he decided to sate his curiosity.

"Hey, did something happen with Aang?" he asked the Water Tribe warrior.

Bato sighed, "Something like that."

Zuko raised an eye brow to what Bato said, and Bato took a deep breath.

"Hakoda… the messenger for the rendezvous came last night, and Aang got the message," elaborated the Water Tribe warrior.

Zuko's good eye widened in surprise, "So, he knew where it was and never said a word?" Bato nodded in a reply, "I see… well, that can't be good. How are Sokka and Katara handling it?"

Bato sighed yet again, "We leave for Hakoda's in the afternoon."

Bato heard nothing for a moment, but then the sound of fast-moving footsteps sounded off. He looked up to see Zuko marching quickly to the abbey.

In the abbey Sokka was angrily putting his supplies together, and Katara was doing the same but with a mixture of pain and sadness. They both were just about to finish when the door flew open.

"So that's it? You're just going to leave him?"

They looked up to see Zuko with a mix of shock, and anger on his face.

"Stay out of this, it doesn't concern you!" shouted Sokka angrily.

"You can't just leave Aang out to dry like that," Zuko snapped.

"And what about us?" demanded Sokka, "Ever since we left the South Pole we got to do whatever Aang wanted, and now that something we may have wanted came up, we suddenly can't? I don't know about you Zuko but that's unfair!"

Zuko let the words sink in, and let Sokka catch his breath as well. Sokka had a very valid point, but abandoning Aang seemed a little extreme.

"Look," began Zuko calmly after taking a deep breathe, "What Aang did was horrible, and well… bad. But there's no way he can do this on his own, he needs help."

"NO!" snapped Sokka, "What he needs is to stop being a little kid and grow up."

Zuko looked to Katara, who had a melancholy expression on her face.

"Katara, you agree with me don't you?" he asked her.

She was quiet before she faced him, "…Sokka's right, this doesn't concern you."

Zuko was quiet for a bit trying to think of something to let them at least think about reconsidering, but knew they were adamant in their decision. There would be no convincing them otherwise.

"Fine, do whatever you want, I won't stop you," said Zuko after giving a defeated sight.

Sokka continued packing, but Katara just stared at the young firebender's retreating form before returning to her own packing.

Outside, Aang was looking sadly at the ground when he heard someone stand next to him, and lean against the wall.

"So… you want to talk?" asked Zuko.

"No, I don't," muttered Aang. There was a silence until Aang spoke up again, "Aren't you going to say what an idiot I am?"

"Considering how you're moping around like that, I guess Sokka already took care of that for me. Not to mention you're probably putting yourself through a big guilt trip anyway, so there's no real need for me to add to it," said Zuko.

Aang's head fell down more, and Zuko looked away.

"Believe it or not, I understand why you did it," said Zuko.

"What?" gawked Aang.

"I lost everything, and was forced into the army. I felt hopeless, and alone, and scared. But my new comrades got me through it and I gained more than I could have ever imagined. I swore I would never lose what I had gained, and I did everything in my power to make sure that I didn't, even if it meant killing," said Zuko.

"Did it work?" asked Aang.

Zuko didn't answer.

"Look, what I'm trying to say is that you're not the first person who's done bad things to hold onto people who are important to them. What matters is that you take responsibility for what happened and move forward," Zuko pushed himself off the wall, and began to walk but stopped just a few steps away from Aang, "So, where were you heading before all this happened?"

"The North Pole," said Aang absently.

Zuko was quiet for a bit before sighing, "So… do we leave in the afternoon?"

Aang shot his head up in the direction of Zuko, who was rubbing the back of his head.

"Look, you can't do this alone, and I know a lot of safe routes to the Earth Kingdom's northern coast," he added when he saw Aang looking at him with surprise.

"You'd travel with me, for real?" asked Aang.

"Well… without Sokka and Katara, someone has to make sure you stay out of trouble," said Zuko.

"Oh, right," said Aang sadly.

Zuko palmed his forehead for sounding a little insensitive, "Look Aang, it may not seem like it, but they'll forgive you eventually."

"What if they don't?" asked Aang in a worried voice.

"They will, don't worry, Sokka and Katara aren't the type to hate someone like you forever. In fact, they probably will the next time you meet them," reassured Zuko, "Now come on, we better get ready for later when we leave."

Aang was quiet for a bit before he nodded, and followed Zuko to another part of the abbey to gather their things.

…

Later on, the three people of the Water Tribe were all packed Bato said farewell to Zuko, and Zuko did the same. Sokka just nodded to the firebender, and Zuko did so in kind. Both were still upset over the actions of Aang, and the other's reaction to it. Katara bid Aang good luck before facing Zuko.

"Look after him, please," she requested.

"…I will," he sighed, as she walked away he stopped her with a hand on her shoulder, "Katara… he didn't mean to hurt you or Sokka; just wanted to let you know. Tell your dad I said hi."

Katara nodded. The three members of the Water Tribe gave a look of farewell before they finally left. Zuko told Aang to go on ahead to the beach while he made sure they didn't leave anything. As he went back to the abbey he could have sworn he heard Aang tell his lemur that he was an idiot.

Zuko went to all the rooms that he had stayed both as Hakoda's prisoner, and later as the abbey's guest to see if he didn't forget anything. He had everything including the fang pendant that Hakoda gave him. He chose to tie it to the pommel of one of his swords so he could easily show it just in case he ran into other Water Tribe warriors.

As he went to the courtyard, the superior walked up to him.

"Here, if you are going northward, you will need this," she said giving him a pair of thick coats and a sack of sweet potatoes, "The coats should keep you warm, and the potatoes should keep in the cold weather."

"Thank you," said Zuko with appreciation.

Zuko gave the woman a farewell bow before walking down to the door to the courtyard. However, before it could be opened, there was a loud crash followed by a monstrous roar. Zuko instantly crouched down and creaked the door open very slightly, and saw someone he never thought he would ever see again.

"June?" he whispered.

He saw June riding Nyla and saw how the shirshrew was sniffing vehemently. It was then that he saw Zhao follow the two of them inside.

"_What's the holdup?"_ the admiral demanded.

"_The one who owns the necklace has been here recently… very recently… my guess is that they're close,"_ said June.

'Why is she serving them?' he thought, knowing that if June was helping the Fire Nation track Aang, then there was no where to hide. Suddenly, a new thought hit him, 'Wait, what necklace?'

It was obvious that if anyone in Aang's group had a necklace, it would be Katara. He didn't recall ever seeing a necklace on her at all though. Could she have dropped it? That would make sense; regardless as long as Zhao had this necklace and June the admiral would always be able to track down Aang or his friends. When he faced back to where June and Zhao were, he noticed they had already left and he suddenly became afraid. If they were tracking Aang down using a necklace that belonged to Katara, then she, Sokka, and Bato were in danger. He quickly turned to the superior.

"Take whatever you can carry, it's not safe here anymore, not with Zhao prowling around," he informed them.

The superior understood what Zuko was saying. She had seen her share of the war, and called for Haixiu and ordered the girl to inform the other nuns to evacuate.

"How will you escape?" asked Zuko curiously.

"This abbey has an underground route used in emergencies. In the ancient days, the abbey was used to relieve the garrison in the north during sieges, and to provide escape for those on either side of the passage. It's easy to seal off, so we are not too concerned with a pursuit. We will be fine," she reassured.

Zuko nodded, and bowed solemnly, "Thank you for your hospitality."

"You are most welcome," replied the elderly woman, "Look after the Avatar. He is the one hope we have in ending this war."

"I will," said Zuko and he dashed out the abbey with his pack and swords to the beaches knowing that Appa was the best chance they had of getting to Katara and the others before Zhao did.

When he got to the shore, he saw Aang tightening Appa's saddle, and he stopped right in front of the giant bison.

"Aang, we're in trouble," he said while catching his breath.

"I know, I messed things up big time," said Aang.

Zuko shook his head, "No, it's not that. It's Zhao, he's here with a tracker."

"Zhao's here?" he asked worriedly.

"He's using a shirshrew and a necklace… did Katara have a necklace?" he asked.

"Her mom's necklace? … Katara's in trouble! Yip-Yip!" Aang frantically snapped the reigns and ignored Zuko.

"Hey!" he shouted, "Rgh… he could have at least waited for me to get on the saddle before going off like that."

And with that, Zuko followed Aang back as quickly as he could.

**xXxXx**

Katara was rushing back to the abbey with Sokka to try and catch up with Aang and Zuko. Hopefully, the two were still around that they could rejoin them both.

After Bato explained that the wolf howled due to the pain of separation from its pack, Sokka had understood why Aang did what he did. He and Katara decided to meet with their father later. Right now, they had a friend who needed help, and they weren't going to let him down. Yes Zuko was with him, but that didn't matter. They weren't going to leave Aang the way they did.

Suddenly, the siblings found themselves surrounded by mongoose dragon riders, Zhao, and woman on a big hairy animal.

"Well, is this that who you're looking for?" asked the woman pointing to Sokka.

"Of course not, don't you know what the Avatar looks like?" snapped Zhao before facing the two siblings, "Where is the boy?"

"I don't know, we separated," said Sokka.

"Do you take me for an idiot," Zhao growled.

"Pretty much," said Sokka before grabbing his sister, "Run!"

Before they could get far, June had Nyla paralyze them, and the two siblings collapsed into a prone position. Zhao was furious over the turn of events. He was sure he could get the avatar, but the boy eluded him again. He looked at the two Water Tribe siblings with a sick look. He was angry, and was more that willing to take it out on them.

June however, had caught onto Zhao's expression and intervened. She maneuvered Nyla so that the creature could see if there were any other scents on the two siblings. Very quickly the shirshrew began to get twitchy again, meaning a scent had caught its nose.

"Hold on, Nyla's getting another scent," began June.

The note containing Hakoda's rendezvous point rolled out of Sokka's pack. Nyla caught onto the scent, and creature faced the abbey and clawed at the ground.

"Bring those two, they may make effective bargaining chips," she commanded.

Zhao motioned for his men to do as she asked. When Katara and Sokka were on the back of Nyla's saddle, Zhao and his riders mounted up again and rode to the abbey. While they rode, Katara and Sokka were worried. They had basically led Zhao to him, and this time they were in no position to help. Instead of hoping to catch up, all they could hope for was that Aang had already left.

In almost no time at all, they had all returned to the abbey, and this time they found it deserted. The now immobile Katara and Sokka noticed that the nuns were gone, as if they knew that they were in danger. But even more odd was that they were going in circles. The woman's animal was struggling to figure out where the scent was coming from when it looked up. For a brief moment, they saw Aang diving down and blasting a powerful gust of wind that blew everyone back.

Sokka and Katara were lying on their backs when Aang peered over them.

"Are you guys ok?" asked Aang.

"We are now," said Sokka.

"Thanks Aang," said Katara.

Aang began to help them up when a noise caught their attention.

"Ugh…" the three kids turned to see the woman on the strange animal getting up slowly on her feet, "Man that hurt."

Suddenly, June froze, getting the kind of feeling a person gets when they are in danger.

"Thank you lieutenant, but unfortunately your services are no longer required," said Zhao smoothly from behind.

June however dropped into a low stance and drew a dirk from her boot and threw it at the admiral. Using that as a diversion, she lunged for her whip, but the plan didn't work. A ball of fire got in between her and her weapon, and she was forced back. She faced her enemy seeing Zhao and the dragoons assembling behind him.

Aang and the others were simply confused by what was going on. They were wondering why the Fire Nation would suddenly want to attack its own allies. Nyla had gotten swiftly to June's side to defend her.

"Form up!" shouted Zhao and the riders assembled in a neat row, "Now let's make this official. The colonial army dies here… Fire!"

The riders all shot jets of flame. Aang Sokka, and Katara watched as the fire sped toward the down woman with feelings of fear, and anger at what was about to happen.

CLICK! CLOK!

They heard a noise off to the side, and Aang faced it to see a figure leap in front of the flames. The figure drew out a pair of swords which instantly ignited on fire, and dissipated the incoming jets.

Aang finally realized that Zuko had stopped the attack. The firebender stood up straight with his swords held tight.

"Mind if I cut in?"

**I kind of rushed in writing this chapter, but even so, I rather like it. Hopefully you guys liked this too, but if there is something off with it, please tell me so I can improve it. Also tell me what you think of my way of presenting the background information for the chapter, and see if you can guess Zuko's past now. Hee-Hee**

**Author's Notes:**

**The way I gave the background information is from the way some manga and comic book stories give background information. I thought it would be a good way to deliver the information in this chapter, and possibly the rest of the story.**

**The idea of the Auxiliary Divisions would have actually been possible despite what the show seems to indicate. Throughout history, empires, such as Rome and Imperial China, have employed the conquered or allied with foreign peoples to augment their armies. There was usually some incentive for the peoples to serve Imperial powers though, and I'm debating what that incentive would be for this story.**

**Auxiliary is a Roman, or Latin, term that was used to describe their non-citizen soldiers. Thought it would be a good title for the army I came up with.**

**Actual dragoons were technically infantry soldiers that could ride horses, and are referred to and militarily arranged as infantry. They are still used in modern times by some countries. However, since it sounds like the word dragon, I figured that the Fire Nation would give the title of dragoons to their very best soldiers/cavalry as a sign of prestige.**

**The skepticism of Iroh comes from Zuko's line in The Firebending Masters, when he says his uncle had a complicated past.**

**Thank you for reading and please review.**


	9. Reunions Part 3

**School's done, so now I can get back to work.**

**Anyway, this is the last part of the "Abbey" section of the story, finally. It's been fun playing with this portion of the story, but I really want to move on from it. I just hope I didn't rush it. Also, since the website won't allow me to add more to the summary I will tell you all that from now on the story is rated T for language and violence. I may also bump it up to M later on.**

**On a quick note, special shout out to ArrayePL for actually figured out what I was planning back in chapter 5. **

**Anyway, I hope you all enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender. It is the property of its creators and Nickelodeon.**

Chapter 9: Reunions Part 3

Zhao saw the young man who had interfered in their attack. He looked vaguely familiar, and his voice rang a memory in his head. When his eyes saw the eye patch that the man wore, the gears in his head turned. Then the image of a thirteen year old boy groveling to the Fire Lord in the Agni Kai arena of the capital flashed in his mind.

"It can't be," said Zhao unable believe what he was seeing, "Are you…?"

The young man sighed, and lifted his hand to the eye patch and removed it. The red scar was now visible for them to see, and Zhao was the first to gawk. Even though the hair was long and messy, even though the face was dirtier and the clothes were Earth Kingdom, there was no mistaking the scar and the proud, commanding expression.

"Zuko…" was all the man could say, still surprised by who he was looking at.

Zuko only stared at him, and readied himself for a fight, knowing the moment he interfered with the dragoon's volley that his cover would be blown. However, he first needed to make sure that June was alright.

Aang had just propped up Katara and Sokka against the wall to better see what was going on when the three laid eyes on the horrible burn on the left side of Zuko's face as he faced the woman he had protected. Aang wasn't surprised too much since he saw it already, though Sokka felt a little sick looking at the scar, and Katara gasped at the sight. The two siblings had seen burns before, but those were on arms, legs, or other parts of the body. However, the scar on the face looked horrible, and they wondered how he could have gotten it.

"So… how have you been?" Zuko asked June with a familiar, drawled out ease.

June, also seemed to fall into the feeling of familiarity, and just scowled at the question.

"Oh, just fine," she said in a similar manner as she tried to get onto her feet.

"Can you fight?" he asked her seriously.

"I think so, I didn't fall that hard."

Zuko accepted her answer seeing as she got up without too much effort, and he then turned around and focused his attention back to the situation. In front of him were a Fire Nation admiral and twenty dragoons. And on his side were two paralyzed Water Tribe teens a twelve year old Avatar, a former lieutenant turned bounty hunter, and her short tempered mount. In his mind odds seemed to go against them.

"Well, well what a pleasant surprise. Not one, but two members of the 41st Auxiliary Division," began Zhao snapping Zuko out of his thoughts, "Lieutenant June, formerly of the 21st, and _Prince_ Zuko... you're still alive I see."

Aang, Katara, Sokka balked at the word "prince."

"P-P-P- Prince?" sputtered Sokka.

"But, that would mean… he's…" began Katara with similar feelings.

"Zuko?" began Aang, now frightened, "Are you… really?"

"Oh?" began Zhao, "I had no idea you were friends with the Avatar."

"…We're more like frequent acquaintances," said Zuko.

"Is that so? Well, then I guess you wouldn't have any problem in us capturing the boy," said Zhao before giving a wicked smile, "Or… perhaps you would be willing to help us out."

Zuko cocked an eyebrow, "Excuse me?"

"Think about it," continued Zhao, "You can return home with honor, a hero of the war, and your father would welcome you with open arms. You can be a prince again."

Aang tensed and gripped his staff at Zhao's words, worried that Zuko would take the man's offer.

"Not interested," said Zuko suddenly, "I refuse to do anything for that bastard."

Immediately, everyone's eyes went wide at the comment.

"How dare you!" began Zhao with a low growl, "That is our lord, your father, you are referring to."

"How dare I? He banished and disowned me; sent me to war!" snapped Zuko before calming down, "However, I fought for him along with my comrades because it was my duty, our duty, but even so… what he did… I will never forgive him. So excuse me if I haven't shown him the proper respects, but as far as I am concerned, I have no father," Zuko's good eye narrowed and a fierce determination glowed within them, "And anyone who stands against _that man_ is my ally."

…

"…So, you throw your lot in with them?"

Zuko looked to the Avatar and his friends. They were stunned by his words, and they were anticipating his next action. Zuko turned to June, who simply nodded. The ex-prince gave his answer to Zhao in the form of an attack stance, and June flipped off the admiral.

"Then, you have chosen treason," the admiral then smirked, "By law, I am required to bring you in alive, but the law doesn't forbid me from 'disciplining' you."

Zhao gave a signal. The dragoons dismounted, knowing cavalry tactics would not help in the walled courtyard, and immediately switched to infantry mode and began to assemble into formation.

Zuko turned to face June, "How many can you take?"

"Around ten, you?" she answered.

"Not sure, it's been a while since I took on this many professional soldiers. The last encounter was close, and that was only one person," was his reply.

"And you're still going to fight…" she replied before rolling her eyes, "You haven't changed at all, captain."

"Neither have you."

The June got her whip by Zuko's foot as he got into a charging position, hands gripping his sheathed swords. When they were ready they noticed that the enemy was assembling into a standard fire volley formation, two rows of ten firebenders in a checkerboard layout, each one waiting for the order to attack.

"Follow my lead," said Zuko.

June nodded as they both heard Zhao say "ready." The ex-prince immediately drew his swords and charged. Zhao said "fire," and a volley of flames was shot by one row of dragoons who then shifted into attack position as the second row took to the front ready to fire. It was during this transition that Zuko made his move. He sliced through a blast heading straight for him with fire swords, and using his momentum, flipped himself into the air and barreling toward the dragoons.

Zhao and his men were shocked that Zuko did this that they had hesitated in their second volley for a brief moment, which was all Zuko needed. Just before he landed into the formation, he ignited his swords again and landed feet first into one the men in the second row. The soldier flew back while Zuko landed behind the formation, and once again using his momentum, he spun around unleashing a powerful wave of fire from his swords at the soldiers. The dragoons had no time to face Zuko and block the incoming wave and most were sent flying, breaking the formation and giving Zhao a face full of dirt.

Aang, Sokka, and Katara thought that the maneuver Zuko pulled off was amazing. However, Zuko and June had a different opinion. Zuko knew in his mind he had regained much of his strength while training in the abbey, but he was still not as strong as he was, as he had to be three years prior when he had to fight in the war.

Still, the attack was sufficient enough to give the opening June needed for her attack, and she sent Nyla at the remaining men. The giant shirshrew whipped its tongue at the other dragoons, who were frantically avoiding the toxic barbs on the creature's tongue. Those who were lucky to avoid that wasted their luck as they made a beeline for June who simply used her whip on them, using its flexible form to tangle and trip up the dragoons so that Nyla would have a clear shot. Other dragoons turned their attention to Zuko, using either bending or their own dao swords. However, like June, Zuko held his own, sending them unconscious using the pommel of his sword, his knees, or his own bending.

Sokka and Katara managed to get their necks moving, and began to watch the battle more freely with Aang. They were amazed at the level of skill that the two people had. June was constantly dancing circles around her enemies, and coordinating Nyla's attacks. Zuko took enemies down with brutal, but non-lethal, precision and efficiency. In fact, neither of them killed any soldiers, and both seemed to avoid that outcome.

Zuko took down another soldier when he saw a band of men approach the Avatar, who were obviously too distracted to notice. He charged at them quickly and intercepted them before they could do any kind of damage. With a powerful shout, he summoned the fire in his blood and ignited his swords and blasted them at point blank range. The soldiers were forced back, and suffered intense burns. Zuko turned around and faced the group who were still too stunned to say anything.

"What are you waiting for?" he stated, "Get moving."

"But what about-" began Aang.

"I can't fight them and look after Katara and Sokka and you all at the same time. This is your one chance, now run!"

Zuko quickly went back into the fray as he saw June get pushed back. The two continued their synchronized battle tactics, and held off their enemies brilliantly to give Aang time to escape.

The boy blew the whistle and Appa came in from above to Sokka and Katara's side. Using his airbending, the young Avatar gently got Katara and Sokka to hover and placed them in the saddle. Aang leapt up to Appa's head and grabbed the reins, but as he did, he saw the battle again. Although Zuko and June had the edge in skill and a giant shirshrew, Zhao had them outnumbered with very well-trained soldiers. Guilt rang through the young boy's heart at the thought of leaving the two to fend for themselves while he ran away.

"Appa, get Katara and Sokka to safety," said Aang in a solemn voice.

"But Aang…" began Katara in protest.

"I can't leave them," said Aang, "Not when I can make a difference," the young Avatar turned back, to Appa, "I'll catch up later, don't worry."

The bison grunted, and Aang hopped down onto the monastery grounds. The bison dutifully obeyed his friend, despite the protests from Sokka and Katara, and Aang immediately went to a soldier about to flank Zuko. By the time the former prince noticed the soldier approaching his side, it was too late for him to do anything. However, before the dragoon's sword could connect, a blast of wind blew the soldier to the wall on the other end of the courtyard.

Zuko looked around and saw Aang with this staff ready to fight.

"You're helping us?"

"Well, you did say you were disowned and an ally," said Aang.

Zuko took a moment to absorb what he heard, figuring that the fight had best shown the kid he was on their side.

"Thanks… we could use the help," said Zuko, before parrying a sword slash.

Aang nodded and immediately started shooting out air blasts, and the three, four counting Nyla, began to gain the momentum in this battle. Still, the dragoons were relentless, and they kept coming as long as they had the energy to fight.

Despite the dragoon's rather admirable tenacity however, Zhao was becoming increasingly furious. He lost the Avatar once already, and he would not allow it to happen again. He took matters in his own hands, and charged toward the former prince, deciding to defeat him first. He shot a large blast that caught the prince's attention. Zuko immediately kicked back the soldier he was fighting against, and used fire swords to slice through the blast. When the blast dissipated, Zuko saw Zhao was only feet away from him with a flaming fist.

Being too close to his enemy to use his swords, Zuko kicked up a wall of flame to slow the older man down, and leapt backwards. He sheathed his blades and began taking shots at Zhao. Zhao did so as well, and the two benders began firing, circling, and leaping to avoid getting hit. It was during this that Zuko noticed a glint of blue hanging from one of Zhao's vambraces.

'Is that… a necklace?' he wondered before remembering Katara supposedly had one, but he snapped out of his thoughts when a fireball headed toward him

He leaped back, and shot blasts as he did so to distract Zhao and Zuko deliberately stepped into Zhao's combat zone. This action would put him in serious danger, but also making it difficult for Zhao to fight back. Although firebending was the only form of bending that didn't require the massive amounts of space the other elements required, it was still not designed for the tight proximities that Zuko was setting up. In fact, Zuko wasn't even using firebending. He was now resorting to hand to hand combat, something that Zhao had no experience dealing with.

Zuko was constantly pushing Zhao back until he got his opening. Zuko landed a straight kick to Zhao, forcing the older man back, and shifted from a hand to hand stance to a firebending one in a quick motion. However, all Zuko did was smirk.

"What are –?" suddenly, the admiral's muscles tightened.

"Thanks Nyla," said Zuko as the Shirshrew loomed over the older man's body.

Zuko once again went in to the fray and without their leader the dragoons were on the losing side. Aang used wind blasts, June used her whip and Nyla's toxin, and Zuko knocked out another with his swords and bending. One by one, the dragoons were finally defeated.

Aang took the time to catch his breathe while June began to search the dragoons' unconscious bodies to collect her payment.

"…Thanks," said Zuko as he approached the young Avatar, "You didn't have to help us, but thanks anyway."

Aang nodded, "No problem. Anything for an ally…" Aang trailed off somewhat when the new revelation regarding Zuko's identity came into light. Sooo… you're a prince?"

"A disowned, ex-prince," Zuko corrected with a sigh.

"Did Bato know, or Sokka and Katara's father?"

"…No, and before you start, it's just like my being a firebender," explained Zuko, "How do you tell someone that?"

"Just say it," replied the bounty hunter lifting a coin pouch.

"Do you mind?" he shouted in aggravation, "This is a private conversation."

"You? Conversing? With people?" she began skeptically, "The last time I checked, you like talking as much as I like the color pink."

"Shut up!" said Zuko before returning his attention to Aang with a solemn expression on his face, "Anyway, here."

Zuko dangled Katara's necklace in front of the boy.

"That's Katara's!" he exclaimed as he grabbed it.

"I swiped it off of Zhao before Nyla nicked him. I figured it was hers; not many Fire Nation men wear blue Water Tribe jewelry."

"It belonged to Katara's mom," said Aang.

"I see," said Zuko, "…well, make sure she gets it then. Now, if you'll excuse me for a moment."

Zuko headed over to June, who lifted another pouch as Zuko approached her. She looked at him, sizing him up when he stopped in front of her.

"You grew," she commented.

"I guess," replied Zuko, "So… I heard about a woman on a shirshrew charging outrageous prices for bounties. You're the source of the rumors I take it?"

"I suppose. Anyway, I'm clearing out of here before these bozos wake up," June whistled and Nyla trotted over to the two ex-soldiers.

The shirshrew allowed June to pet it, before letting Zuko do the same.

"So what are you going to do now?" she asked.

"I'm not sure yet," said Zuko vaguely, aware of his surroundings, namely the unconscious or paralyzed soldiers.

"Same here," replied June, "Don't get yourself killed, alright?"

"Likewise… what the –" said Zuko before he noticed something.

The soldier that almost killed him, the one Aang blew away earlier, wasn't quite so unconscious and had an ignited bomb in his hands. The dragoon tossed it in their direction, but Zuko stepped in and shot a stream of fire into it path in an attempt to set if off mid-flight. A resounding boom echoed throughout, dulling everyone's ears. However, Zuko felt several pockets of pain throughout his body, and warm liquid on his skin.

His body collapsed and writhed in pain, and June immediately got onto her knees and examined his wounds.

"Shrapnel," muttered June as she looked at the young man's body.

She saw the young Avatar make his way with a worried look on his face after he blew the soldier over the wall. June felt her knowledge of medicinal sciences kick in as she examined Zuko. None of the shrapnel hit his midsection, but his arms and legs were bleeding. She heard the groans of some of the dragoons, waking up from the explosion no doubt, and knew she had to get him out of here so she can treat him somewhere safe.

"Help me get him on Nyla's saddle," she ordered.

Aang did as the woman asked, but not without hearing Zuko's ragged and pained breathing. June mounted up, and cracked the whip, making Nyla speed away very quickly. Aang followed close behind on his glider, escaping the battlefield with her.

…

They arrived at one of the places that Nyla had tracked Katara down, the old abandoned temple. June carefully laid Zuko on the bedroll she slept in while on the hunt, started a fire, and pulled out a knife. She got a bottle of swill she would drink sometimes, and a rolled up satchel containing a variety of metal instruments the likes of which Aang had never before seen.

"You might want to head back to your friends now," said June pulling out what looked like hooked chopsticks, "It's getting dark, and you don't want to be around when I get to work."

"But…"

"No buts kid!" she growled, "You're the Avatar, you've got more important things to do than wait on this idiot of captain," her voice then softened, "He'll be fine, so get moving."

"Are you sure you don't need anything else?" said Aang in one final attempt to stay a bit longer.

"No," she said adamantly with a steely voice, "Besides, we both lived through Uragiri. I doubt some firecracker will kill him; his pride would never allow it. Now get moving before I sic Nyla on you."

Aang saw the giant shirshrew bear its fangs and let its barbed tongue uncoil. The threat was apparent, and he released a sigh, knowing the woman was probably right. He needed to get back to the others anyway. They were probably really worried about him.

"Good luck," was all Aang said.

"You to, kid," she replied before she poured the swill onto her tools.

Aang propped open his glider and went off, but not without taking one last look at the unconscious prince.

And not without hearing Zuko scream.

**xXxXx**

It took a while, and a couple of whistle blows, but Aang eventually reunited with Appa and the others. The bison was in flight, so Aang just plopped down on the saddle and met with a very angry Sokka and Katara.

"What were you thinking?" "You could have gotten killed!" they both said at the same time.

"Well, I'm not!" snapped Aang.

The two siblings stared back in shock. It was not common to see Aang angry in any way unless something bad happened.

"What happened?" asked Katara gently.

Aang told them of the bomb, and what Zuko did to stop it. He told them of the injuries the young ex-prince sustained, and the blood that he had seen.

"Will he be alright?" asked Katara, genuinely concerned.

"I think so," said Aang, "That lady sounded like she knew what she was doing, so yeah, I think he'll be fine," the airbender decided to switch topics to something more immediate, "So, where do I take you guys now? Do you still want me to take you to your father? We can look for Bato if want."

The two siblings took note of the not so subtle change in topic, but pushed it aside, wanting the day to end on a good note. They looked at one another they faced Aang.

"We're getting you to the North Pole," said Katara.

"Yeah, we've lost too much time as it is," added Sokka.

Aang was surprised by the answers of the two, "Don't you want to see your father?"

"Of course we do Aang, but you're our family too," said Sokka, "And right now you need us more."

"And we need you," said Katara.

Aang smiled at the sentiment, but knew there was one last thing to do before he could officially patch things up with them.

"I'm really sorry I hid the letter from you. I was just so scared you'd leave me. Can you forgive me?"

Sokka gave a sigh, "I'm still a little irritated that you did what you did, but I understand. Bato helped out with that."

"We'd never just leave you Aang. Just promise you won't do anything like that again, ok?" said Katara.

"I promise," said Aang readily when one last thought struck him, "…I just wish I could give you a little piece of home Katara… something to remind you..." he began.

"I'll be ok," replied Katara.

"Still, just a little trinket, maybe something like…this," he said before pulling out the necklace of her mother.

Katara's eyes widened and Sokka had to rub his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things.

"Aang how'd you get that?" she asked in surprise as Aang gave it to her.

"Zuko saw it on Zhao, and took it during the fight," he replied quietly before continuing, "He asked me to be sure I got it to you."

"He did?" she asked and she felt her cheeks inexplicably warm up.

"Yeah," said Aang, too enthusiastic at Katara's happiness to notice the slight change in color in Katara's face.

"Thank you," said Katara before giving Aang a kiss on the cheek, making his face go a deep red. She wrapped the necklace back where it belonged, and reveled as she felt the necklace grace her neck, "I'll have to thank Zuko too, it looks like."

She wondered if she would ever see him again. Based on what Aang said, his condition was serious. But if there was one thing she knew about him, it was that he seemed to turn up every time they were in some kind of trouble.

"I thank him the next time we see him," she said.

Aang smiled at Katara's words, giving him added reassurance that Zuko would live and run into them again.

**I'm sorry for the late update, but I debated constantly on whether or not Zuko was going join up or stay separate. This final decision just came to me and I decided to roll with it. Anyway, school is done so I **_**should**_** be able to update on a regular basis now. Maybe.**

**Author's Notes: **

**June only knows Zuko through the Auxiliaries, hence why she refers to him as captain.**

**Thank you for reading and please review.**


End file.
